Yesterday's Troubles
by chicpinay
Summary: COMPLETED! CHAPTER 15 THE PROMISE, IS UP! People from the past cause trouble for Jason and Brenda. Their adventure creates tension between the couple as unknown feelings begin to surface. (Brazen)
1. Bubbly

Yet to be Titled 

The past revisits your favorite characters, for good or for bad? 

Chapter 1: Bubbly ~ Summary:  Jason is startled by an unexpected visit. 

Rated PG

**Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with nor do I intend to gain anything from: General Hospital, the characters, the actors, or _Newsweek_. **

**Chapter 1: Bubbly**

            The motor faded into silence as the driver parked his precious vehicle in its usual spot. The sky rumbled as huge droplets of water seeped into his dark clothing and into his skin. He sprinted quickly for cover into the posh apartment building. After greeting the guard, he headed up to his home.  He was anxious to rest his feet and squeeze in at least three hours of sleep before having to return to his "duties".  The elevator bell rang, signifying his destination. Finally, it seemed pointless to have to live on such a high floor, but it was the best and it was where his family was. He threw his helmet onto the desk and flipped on the lights. 

"I would've thought you'd have changed your locks by now."

Like lightening, he reached for his gun. A young woman, with a smug grin, swung her legs off the couch and stood up as she placed a magazine onto the coffee table. 

            "Tsk, tsk. Being a little violent now aren't we?" she remarked, placing a perfectly manicured hand on her hip. 

            He sighed and placed his gun delicately into the desk drawer and began heading towards the kitchen. "How'd you get in here?" he yelled from the kitchen. He looked into the dimly lit refrigerator, trying to decide on whether or not he should serve the young woman, after all she was uninvited.

            "That's all you say when you haven't seen me in how long?" she asked, a bit annoyed. You'd think a friend would be happy after a return home, but not him, never him. She frowned, thinking of why she ever thought of stopping by. "Ahhhh" she yelped and jumped back. Sprinkles of bubbling champagne wet her back. "Jason!" She turned and saw a him grinning, champagne and glasses in his hands. 

            "Woops." He put down the items and began laughing harder.

            "This is silk! And for that I'm gonna-." She grabbed the champagne bottle and walked menacingly towards him. 

            "Whoa, whoa…it was accident!" he yelled in sarcastic desperation as he walked backwards away from her. She aimed and he ran. Out of breath, both collapsed onto the couch and laughed quietly. They stared at each other for a few seconds and both were recalling the past, the few moments they shared with each other, all in fun and games. 

"So, what brings you here?" he began, picking up the magazine, "with a _Newsweek_ magazine. Do you understand this stuff? Cause I think it may be a little out of league for you."

            "Shut up," she remarked, punching him playfully and grabbing the periodical from his hands. "Just a little light reading, a girl can read about the news too. I was in the neighborhood, so I thought I'd stop by at my favorite person's humble abode," she exclaimed sarcastically. 

            "Ok. Good enough, I'm going to bed."

            "What? I just got here, you just got home! Come on, how bout some of that one on one, friends and couples do, we haven't really done that in a while." She stood up and stretched out her arms and let out a tiny yawn. 

            "This from the one who's yawning, come on, there's still room for you." He grabbed her hand and led her up the stairs. He felt like a father just then, bring up a tiny child up to bed, but at the same time he felt a little annoyed. He was happy she was back, but a bit disappointed at missing his nap. The sun was peaking from the horizon and one could faintly hear the light shuffle of very early morning risers. 

"Expecting me were you? I knew it! You just can't get enough of me, you wish you were still married to lovely little me dontcha?" she said quietly, but enthusiastically. But she immediately felt drowsy, leaning on Jason for support. He helped her to bed and threw a loose blanket on top of her. Standing by the doorway, he turned back and gazed at her. It hadn't really been that long. It seemed as if only yesterday she took him aback with those three little words. Even if it was to get her out of divorcing him too soon so she could decide what she wanted to do, it always brought a smile back to his face. Their last time together was certainly what one would recall as joyful, but it was sort of special for them.  She changed somewhat; she was a little less demanding, less whiny, but still the same perky, spontaneous Brenda Barret.

A/N:  Please read and review!! I really want your input! Tell me if you want me to continue!


	2. A Scare

Disclaimer: Once again, I am not affiliated with General Hospital and all that stuff.

*Note: I didn't start watching GH till 99, so if some stuff about the history is wrong, please tell me and correct me. Also, some of the flashbacks that will be appearing soon, I will be making up, but they are based on what happened in the past. I'm not going to rewrite the GH history, just add to it.

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Chapter 2: 

"AJ, slow down, stop the car." CRASH! The car swerved and smashed against a tree. His thoughts and life ran quickly through his mind and he felt his body being violently shaken, it felt as if his memory and present Quartermaine life was being shaken out of his body like how young children shake a piggy bank to retrieve money.

His bright blue eyes opened in a flash and Jason sat up in his bed, confused about what he just saw in his mind. The bed was shaking and Jason looked up with a perplexed stare. Brenda, still in her skin tight tank and capri pajamas had just jumped up onto his bed. A silver tray with a beautiful breakfast display was resting in her hands.

"Oh good, you're awake! Look! I made breakfast! Eggs, sausage, and French toast! It's a special recipe, I ran into a girl in Italy and she's an expert with food so I…" The dark haired woman looked at her friend, something was occupying his mind and it didn't look good. "Jason, Jason? Hello??" _Ok, this is weird, even for him_, she thought. Her dark eyes stared intently into his, attempting to figure out what was going on in that mysterious head of his. " ... Jason…I have something very important to tell you…," she started to try and snap him out of it, "I'm still in love with Sonny. Did you hear me?" She waved her hand furiously in front of his still face. Jason remained silent, just thinking. At first, he tried to remember more from his past; using his dream as a foundation, but nothing was coming to him. All he could hear in his head was her rambling. Giving up, Brenda jumped off the bed. "Ladies and gentlemen, Jason Morgan has left reality," she mumbled to herself. She let herself out of his room, it was no use; he was out of it. 

"AHHHH!"

Jason jumped up; startled, he looked around the room for his jeans, "Brenda!" He pulled on his pants and started to run out of the bedroom. The guest room was still, but Jason immediately noticed Brenda had already made it her own. He ran quickly down the stairs and immediately stopped. Brenda was standing at the end of the stairs, beaming, breakfast tray and all in her hands.

"Don't ever do that to me again," he said as he pulled on a dark green tee shirt and walked past Brenda, trying not to eye the obviously delicious meal she had concocted.

"What? I had good reason to scream. I saw a spider. But I smashed it with the News magazine! I knew it was good for something. Look I made breakfast!" she said proudly, bringing the tray towards him. She wafted the delightful smell of fresh food towards his face. "Mmmmm…yummy….ok, fine. I didn't make this for you anyway, I just wanted to see you cringe when I eat all of this right in front of you."

Aggravated, Jason collapsed onto the couch and buried his face in his hands. But he quickly tried to save face, not wanting Brenda to get suspicious of anything. She sat down next to him and set the breakfast tray on the coffee table. "So what's up." 

"Nothing."

"You sure?" she asked. He nodded. "Are you sure you're sure?"

"Yeah, now stop pestering." He picked up a piece of French toast and examined it. "Is it safe?" 

"Don't change the subject! I hate it when you change the subject! Besides, why would I need to get rid of you, I need a place to stay and some money and if you die you obviously would not bequeath your assets to me. They'd probably go to little Michael or someone innocent like that." 

"True, true." As he was eating the remainder of the piece of French toast, he noticed that Brenda was being unusually quiet. He looked over to see her playing with her meal, creating happy and sad faces with the sausages and eggs. She could feel him staring at her, she wanted to tell him why she came back, but she didn't know where to begin. Would he believe her? She didn't want to ruin what they had going, he hadn't yelled at her yet, well at least not very loudly, or given her that menacing cold stare. "You're here for something, what is it?" he inquired gently. He lifted her bowed head and brushed her hair out of her face. Jason could see a faint look of fear in his eyes, one he never saw before. He took her left hand in his to try and comfort her.

"I-I probably should have told you last night, but I-" she was interrupted by a loud pounding on the door.

"Who is it?" Jason asked.

"It's Sonny," the guard replied.

Brenda dropped her fork and her plate on the table, one of the sausage links rolled off the plate onto the floor. "Woops! You can clean that up, I'm gonna go…I'm going in there." 

"What? Hey, Where are you going? You were gonna tell me-" 

"Shhh! I'll tell you later. Just, don't let him know I'm here. Please!" she begged.

"I thought you were still in love with him," he joked as he headed towards the door. 

Brenda made one of those "shut up, stop joking" faces. "Don't say a word!" Brenda demanded in a whispered voice. She ran quietly into the kitchen, hoping Sonny hadn't heard her or Jason talking. She perked up her ears to try and listen to what was going on. Once Sonny left she was going to tell Jason everything. 

A weird one that woman is, he thought to himself. Jason, laughing to himself, opened the door.

"What's up?" Jason was taken aback by what stood before him, he remained still not expressing any emotion. 

***

A young woman accompanied the figure that was standing opposite of Jason. For a brief moment, Brenda and her antics distracted Jason from the reality of his life. He didn't bother to let the couple into his home because he knew they didn't come for a visit. Why did Sonny bring her here? He told Sonny he didn't want to lay eyes on her ever again. He wanted her completely out of his life. It was the only way, the only way for her to recover and lead a life far more rewarding than the one he was living now. She could feel his strong presence at the door, sensing his thoughts and his fear. She stepped up carefully towards him, walking stick on one hand, and letting go of her escort with the other. He didn't move; it felt as if his legs were experiencing a sudden sense of paralyze-ation. She lifted her hand towards his face and felt her way around his chiseled face. There was a time when she could read his face as easily as a map; she used to know every part of his face, but she couldn't remember. He closed his eyes and welcomed the warmth and care he felt at her fingertips. A year ago his heart would beat frantically whenever he felt her touch; but over the past few months, his heart didn't feel the same way it used to for her. Perhaps it was because of what he had done to her, he did not know. Jason stepped back from the woman, away from her touch. 

Sensing his discomfort, she stopped and grabbed onto Sonny's arm again. Sonny looked back from his best friend to his sister. Both of them had their heads down, equally upset at what they had lost and what they could never get back. Trying to improve the uneasiness of the situation, he spoke up, "We're going to the airport now. She just wanted to see- She wanted to say good bye." He felt extreme pity for the both of them. They had so much together and they lost it so quickly. She lost more than her sight and her voice that night; she lost her ability to love Jason the way she used to. Her memory of the year she was with Jason had left her that night. At first she forgot everything, but then she remembered Sonny, Mike, even Elizabeth and Kelly's, but what she had with Jason never came back to her. All that she suffered that night, eleven months ago, all that she was suffering now, he wish he could take it all away. 

Jason looked at the young blonde with sadness. He wished he could be the one in her shoes instead of her. He could not imagine how difficult it was for her to no longer be able to see water, the sun, her family, and her friends. What must it be like to live in constant darkness? "Do you need me to-" he began, but Courtney interrupted him, and shook her head "no." Grief set into Jason's heart once again, but he easily dismissed it; he wasn't going to start mourning again. He needed to focus on the present and the future, a future without her. "Ok then," he replied, he stepped up and hugged her, "Take care, be safe. I know you will recover because you are so strong." He looked at her one last time as she and Sonny stepped into the elevator. 

"I'm so sorry." She did not know what happened, but she knew it had to be dreadful. Brenda sat next to Jason on the couch and opened her arms out to him. He willingly embraced her and sobbed on her shoulder while she stroked his back. She knew this was the first time he let himself cry. How could he cry before when he had to stay strong while Courtney was still around and he had to stay strong for Sonny, Carly, and Michael. She could not imagine what he must have gone through the past few months. She only wished he wasn't the one who had to go through it; Jason deserved more. Jason sacrificed so much for other people because of his sense and honor and loyalty, why couldn't he at least be the one rewarded wondrously for his actions?


	3. Explanations

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to GH

Note: Hope you guys are enjoying this so far. Sorry for not updating in a while, I had all these ideas, and I had writer's block on how to approach and use the ideas. Oh, and if some history stuff is wrong, oh well, just deal with what I'm writing here. Ok, happy reading!

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Chapter 3: Explanations

Jason immediately let go of Brenda and walked over to the closet. He pulled on his black leather jacket. It was a little distressed, but worn in all the right places. He grabbed his motorcycle helmet and shuffled through the desk drawer, looking for his keys. "Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone," he commanded to Brenda. 

"Where are you going? You still have breakfast here." She was confused. A little while ago, the once love of his life was upsetting him, she even thought she saw a tear in the cold faced guy.

"For a ride," he replied annoyingly. He didn't leave yet, knowing full well, from past experience, that she was going to ask more questions. The only way for her to be satisfied was if he answered at least one more.

"Is this because of Blondie leaving heart broken Jason without giving him a good bye kiss? Cause you know, Jax and Sonny didn't even-" She noticed his eyes glaring at her in the familiar cold way. "Don't you dare give me those eyes, I am only saying-"

"Don't get involved in this, you have no idea what the hell happened," he retorted angrily. 

"Then why don't you tell me?" 

"Because, like always, it has _nothing_ to do with _you_. Every time you get involved, you just mess everything up."

"I am trying to be a good friend here." She explained. He gave a sigh and she could tell he didn't want her to help him. "Come on Jason, you have done so much for-"

"Not this again," he interrupted, "I did not help you initially to save your annoying butt. I did what I did for-"

"Sonny," she finished, "I know, I know." She glared at him, why can't he just open up to people? "Well, since you're obviously not gonna tell me anything, can I come with you?"

"What?" 

"Riding. You know on your motorcycle," she suggested excitingly. Jason looked back at the petite woman. She was the one person he could not figure out, if people said no for one thing, she would suggest something else to annoy them. He didn't know if it was only towards him, though. She had a huge grin on her face and the anxiousness of a little child in her eyes. He could not help but let out a little smile.

"I'm going, do you need anything?" He should have just left before she decided to become the good listener. All he needed was to feel the wind in his hair and the speed and power that goes through his body while he rode.

Brenda thought for a second. "I don't think so. You know, I think I'll just pay Carly a visit; ask her what's going on. Cause even though I originally didn't want anyone to know I'm here, this stuff with Courtney is more important, so I'll just-"

He didn't know why he put himself through this. _Because she provides some distraction from Courtney_, he answered to himself. "You have two minutes to change into decent clothes." 

She smiled brightly, "Really, really?" 

"One minute and 52 seconds."

"Ok, ok, I'm going. Keep your boots on." She began running up the steps but turned around momentarily, "Can I drive it?"

He could not believe her. "Brenda."

"Ok, ok." 

*****

"That was so much fun, I should have been nicer to you earlier!" Brenda exclaimed. The motorcycle ride was like nothing she ever experienced before.

"You are not riding with me again." Jason commented as he placed his helmet and jacket into the closet.

"Why not?"

"You were holding on so tight I could hardly breathe." So it was a lie, he thought, he couldn't let her think that he actually liked her holding onto him for support, her gentle hands holding fiercely onto him.

"I wouldn't have to hold you if you didn't go so fast!" she exclaimed. 

"So why did you come back again?" Jason inquired. "Am I the only one who knows you returned from Europe?"

"Huh? Oh look, my magazine came!" Brenda noted as she picked out the fashion magazine from the pile of envelopes they had picked up.

"Ned nearly had a heart attack when we stopped by to see Lila." 

"Oh that, yeah, I was going to tell you, huh." She did not want to talk about why she returned, it would mean facing reality for her.

"Yeah? What is it? Do you need money, because I have plenty, just-"

"No, no, it's not money. God knows you already gave me more than you had to."

"Then what is it?" Jason asked with his serious tough guy voice.

Realizing she had to explain everything, Brenda searched her minds for words, "Ok, ok, I – where should I start? I don't-I don't know. Ok, I ran into Robin in Europe and-"

"Robin?"

"Yeah. So you know, since I haven't seen her in so long, we hung out for like two, three weeks." Flashbacks of Robin showing Brenda around France rolled through Brenda's mind. "It was so much fun, it was like high school all over again," Brenda smiled and remembered the days fondly, "but of course you don't remember…I wish you could remember the fun we used to have, the promise we made," she whispered. She looked up at Jason, who had a confused face. "But anyway. Then…" Brenda paused and was obviously struggling through what she had to say. She tried to compose herself. "I met this guy, who turned out to be a friend of hers for a year or so, and we hit it off, but nothing serious; it was platonic to me. But Robin always insisted that I go out with him. So one day I finally agreed. I don't know why. Just to stop her from pushing me, I guess. So…you know me, I have to get a new outfit and some shoes, so I go…there was a lot of traffic going back…and I come back around fifteen minutes after he said he would stop by and nobody's in the house. Their stuff was still there, so I thought the guy, JC, left and Robin had some emergency or patients to tend to at the local hospital or something. But then there was this note, " she removed the folded note from the inside pocket of her purse and handed it over to Jason. He scanned the crumpled paper and looked in disbelief.

__

Ms. Morgan,

"Ms. Morgan?" Jason asked a little confused. 

"Well, I didn't want anyone knowing who I really was, so I told people my name was Brenda Morgan, it does have some truth to it." Brenda defended. Jason shook his head and let out a tiny smile and read the rest of the short note.

__

Don't worry about Robin. She's dying so I took her someplace safe to live the rest of her life in peace. Don't bother looking for her.

-JC

P.S. Robin says not to worry.

"I wish I never went out."

"This is the guy you 'clicked' with? Why'd you come to me? I mean, it doesn't seem like she's in too much danger if she knows the guy. And if she is dying-" Robin dying, he couldn't picture it. She always seemed to have such an optimistic spirit in her.

"That's just it Jason, Robin didn't look like she was dying, and she would have told me, wouldn't she? I came to you because," Brenda started, " I didn't know what to do, and you…you always know what to do." It was true, that was how she thought of him, a guy who somehow always knew what to do in tough situations. True, she could have easily gone to Sonny or Jax, but she didn't want to see Sonny and certainly not Jax.

"There's more, isn't there?" Jason asked.

"And the day before I overheard JC talking on the phone to someone about something about…you might know what it is…something about a robin's chirp to crush the coffee?"

Jason's eyes lit up, "Oh man, Brenda! Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Jason closed his eyes tightly; his headache from yesterday was coming back. 

"Don't yell at me! I didn't know if you'd listen to me, I didn't even understand what was going on." Brenda answered, she grabbed a pillow from the couch and hugged it tightly for comfort. 

"He's gonna try to use Robin to get back at me." Jason explained.

"That explains - I got this, this morning when we stopped by Lila's," she said and she took out another letter from her jacket pocket. "I guess Robin thought no one would go after the Quartermaine's. There's something here addressed to you." Brenda takes out something from within her letter and hands Jason a small ivory envelope stamped with his name, Jason Morgan. Jason opened the envelope carefully and read the contents of the small card.

"This isn't good. Robin's in trouble." Jason comments as he heads out the door to Sonny's.

"Wait, wait, " Brenda blocked his way out, "you can't go to Sonny!"

"Why not?"

"Once Sonny knows I'm here, Sonny'll have to tell Carly and then the whole town will know too, then this guy will know I came to you." She came to him, the words from her mouth sounded weird to them both, but both were glad that she came to him first. Both of them silently stared into each others' eyes, trying to process what she just said.

"How would he know something's up if he doesn't even know you left France?" Jason asked, trying to break the momentary silence. Suddenly a thought clicked in his head. "Oh no, you didn't."

"Well…" 

A/N: Thank you for all the reviews! Are you guys enjoying it? Please please read and review. I really want to know what you guys think. Input is always great and taken into consideration.

I'll put up chapter 4 if enough people want it up. I'm working on chapter 5 right now, another fic, and other stuff, so if chapter 4 isn't up soon, it might be because I'm too busy to go online to post it.

You guys can always e mail me if you have ideas too. 


	4. Explosive Argument

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Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with anything related to General Hospital.

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Chapter 4: Explosive Argument

The stinging in her cheek would not go away. He had slapped her harder than he intended, but she deserved it. The young brunette just seemed to take in every punishment that was being given to her. The man couldn't stand seeing how strong and unbreakable the woman was. "That's it Robin," the man yelled. He dragged her back to the chair and tied her up extra tight this time. _Hopefully she's not strong enough for this_. The man thought to himself.

But it was all an act. The brown haired woman was growing weaker inside everyday, physically and emotionally. She wished this wasn't happening to her, but she thought it was better her than Brenda. Brenda was a tough girl, but who knows how long she would have lasted. Robin closed her eyes and prayed that Brenda was all right and that she had received the letter from Lila. And Jason… "Jason," the young woman repeated her thoughts. She missed him so much, his understanding, his honesty, his kind ear. She didn't miss him as a lover, but as a friend. She knew he would know what to do under the circumstances. Luckily, Brenda had informed her of their new relationship. She was glad they were getting along, they had to if they both wanted to survive this mess that had unfolded. 

**__**

A couple weeks earlier, the day Robin disappeared.

Her eyes felt heavy, but she managed to open them slowly. Her heart began pounding loudly, sensing danger around her. Her eyes wandered right and left, but she could see nothing but blackness. She wanted to scream for help or ask if anyone else shared the room with her, but strong duct tape kept her lips pressed together. Her wrists began to lack circulation from the tight ropes that held them in place behind a cold, metal chair. The brown haired girl struggled, hoping she could let herself loose from the uncomfortable position. 

"There's no use in trying," a deep voice said from a corner of the room. He lit a candle and walked cautiously over to the helpless young woman. He held the candle towards her face; he expected her to be frightened, but he did not sense any fear in her eyes. She stared at him with remorse and anger, even though she still could not tell who was staring at her. She mumbled something that sounded profane, so he ripped the tape off of her mouth. Her face burned, but she did not flinch. "What were you trying to say darling?" he asked, "Robin isn't it?"

"Where's Brenda? Who are you? What the hell are you doing?" she asked.

"I think it's a little too soon for me to answer all of those questions," the man replied as he walked over to turn on the lights, "but don't worry about your little Beverly Hills girl, I don't have her, unfortunately." 

Good, she thought. Robin didn't want her friend to experience any more trouble. The lights flickered on to its full power and Robin looked up at the man in shock. She was speechless at the revealing of her kidnapper. 

"What's the matter? Surprised? I don't think you should be." The man walked over to Robin and lightly touched her cheek. She snapped her head in the opposite direction; she could not believe he was doing this. "Little Robin, how much you have grown up," he decided to not say anymore and left Robin alone in the room to take in the shock and everything that had happened. She waited for his footsteps to fade away in the background before she let her eyes water and tears run down her face.

*****

"Well, what?" Jason asked again. Ever since Brenda revealed why she came back and showed him the letters, he needed to know what further trouble she may have caused. Knowing her, she probably indirectly caused another problem or something while trying to help. Although she would foul up a lot, he liked how spirited and excited she was about helping others, even if it was to benefit her in the end.

"It doesn't matter, he probably doesn't know I'm here, you know, since I came here under a different name, and I kind of –"

"Brenda, what did you do?" 

"Well…he's kind of looking for me because…I broke into his house and… accidentally pushed his brother down the stairs," Brenda fidgeted and further elucidated. "It was in self defense, he's still conscious, paralyzed, but conscious,"

"Brenda!"

"I just thought JC probably left some clues or something of where he took Robin." Brenda explained. Jason rubbed his hand over his face and let out a huge sigh. She could tell he was about to explode any moment. "I told you it was self defense and I couldn't just do nothing after my friend gets kidnapped." Brenda defended.

"Trespassing? Breaking and entering? Do you know how stupid that is?" Jason asked. He was getting really mad now.

"I know, I know." She said. She never should have brought it up.

"You could have gotten caught! You could've ended up in jail! You could have killed a guy!" He said loudly. 

"I asked you not to yell!"

"I'm not yelling!" He was yelling.

"Then what do you call what you're doing? Talking loudly?" She asked furiously. She really disliked it when he did this to her.

"Yes!" he answered. He raised his voice and pointed out that "This is yelling!"

Brenda had enough. She walked furiously in front of his face so that their bodies were almost in contact with each other. "Well, while we're on the topic of criminal activity, why is it so horrible for me and not for you, you break the law almost every day!" she yelled in his face.

"That's different!" he screamed back. He walked away, hoping to get away from the topic.

She followed; she wasn't going to let him get away. "How? Huh Jason? How? I went out to help a friend because I care and I'm loyal. And that's exactly what you do for Sonny. So how come my actions cannot be justified like yours are?"

Jason turned furiously around and looked Brenda straight in the eye. "Because, unlike you, I don't act carelessly on impulse; I know what to do if there's a gun in my face and because it's my job!" 

"It's my job to protect the people I care about!" she snapped back loudly.

"You call breaking into a kidnapper's house without help and pushing people down the stairs protecting people? When I think you couldn't damage things as worse as it was with Alcazar, this! How idiotic can you be?" he asked in an angry tone. That was it. She couldn't take being called idiotic by him anymore.

"What about you? Look what happened to Courtney!" 

"You know nothing about Courtney!" he exclaimed.

"You think I don't? I overheard the Quartermaine's. Boy do I feel sorry for that girl. You were supposed to protect her Jason, but what did you do?"

"Be quiet. Stop talking." He warned; his headache began to grow worse.

"Some guy takes Courtney and another guy takes Liz somewhere else and you go to Liz first! Why? Because you think she's more helpless!" She was hurting him and she knew it, but for some reason her mouth did not want to stop.

"Shut up!" he yelled. He didn't want to be reminded of his mistake, the one that he believed he would never fully recuperate from. He was just getting over it, and coming to terms when she had to remind him how careless he had been.

"You tell one of Sonny's men to go to Courtney first," Brenda yelled and continued, "and you didn't even know the guy was a psychopath!" 

"Shut up! Just shut up!" Jason rubbed his hand over his eyes and Brenda caught her breath. The two became silent. Each had hurt each other before, but never like this. Brenda wanted to apologize, but she didn't have the courage to speak, in fear of what Jason would do if she even made another sound. Jason looked into Brenda's eyes with remorse, but quickly made himself calm down. Both knew that what each other said was just to get back at the other, it was what they did, and it wasn't to hurt intentionally. Both of their arguments forced the other to face reality and the mistakes they had made. They both realized that what they did could no longer be changed. They just wish it didn't have to hurt so much. Brenda was about to apologize when something out of her control stopped her.

BOOM! 

A huge force seemed to grab a hold of the arguing couple, Brenda fell into Jason's arms and they were thrown to the ground. Jason could hear three faint but frightened screams amongst the noise. Window glass had shattered to pieces. Jason realized Brenda was unconscious and shielded her with his body. He thought he felt the floor shake a little while wall hangings and the few vases fell to the ground. Small pieces off the walls and the ceilings dropped around them. 

*****

"Right on time," A woman with binoculars turned towards her desk and picked up the phone. "It's done," she said monotonously. 

__

"Good" a man on the other end of the line replied. _"You've done what you needed to do. I'm not going to need you anymore."_

"What?" the woman asked, "What does that mean? Hello?" A dial tone just answered her back. Heavy footsteps entered the office and she turned around to see a tall, built, armed man at the doorway. He approached her slowly and bent down so that he was eye level with her.

"He's watching you," the stranger said, "Anything to anyone and you're done. Understand?" the scary big man asked. The frightened woman just nodded and quickly passed out. The stranger took the needle out of her poked arm and slipped it back into his pocket. He closed the door carefully behind him and walked quietly away, nobody even knew he was there.

A/N: How do you like it? Getting good? Please read and review! Your input helps a lot! 

I can't wait to post more, I'm even getting excited. (hee hee)

Keep checking back for chapter 5, it should be up soon, if you guys really want it.


	5. Smoke

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with General Hospital. 

****

Chapter 5: Smoke

"And I thought my migraines were bad." Brenda squeezed her eyes; her brain felt like someone had squeezed it and smashed it a million times. She recognized the familiar cool scent of his aftershave and could sense his strong body nearly touching hers. She opened her eyes to see Jason still covering her. "Get off of me," she said as she pushed him away. He obliged and watched her wobble as she tried to stand up. 

"Easy," he said and let her lean on him for support. "You hit your head pretty hard," he explained. Apparently, both had temporarily forgotten about their argument because both were now focused on the explosion that had just occurred. 

"What happened?" she asked. She examined the room; the penthouse was still intact, except for a chipped wall and broken vases.

"I think it was a bomb, not a big one though" Jason started.

"I think that's obvious." Brenda noticed that Jason's eyes grew fearful all of sudden. "Sonny," she said. The two rushed out of Jason's home to Sonny's across the hall. "Sonny!" Brenda yelled. The door was stuck or locked. Either way, the two could not get into the penthouse. 

"Carly! Michael!" Jason screamed. 

"Jason, wait!" Brenda tugged on Jason's arm, preventing him from trying to pound down the door.

Jason looked questionably at Brenda, "What?"

"Where's Marco?"

"Right here." Jason and Brenda turned around and saw a bruised Francis dragging out an unconscious Marco from the little nook in the hallway by Jason's door. Brenda gasped and Jason, like instinct, stepped in front of Brenda to shield her. Francis held up a gun towards both of them, his finger on the trigger. 

"What are you doing Francis?" Jason asked in his business like voice.

"I think you know what I'm doing," he replied as he walked closer to them, "Give me your gun. Give me your gun!"

"Ok, ok, calm down. I'm not armed, see?" Jason allowed Francis to quickly frisk him for any weapons. Jason slowly maneuvered around so that he and Brenda were now near his door and Francis was in front of Sonny's. Poor Marco lay still on the floor behind Jason and Brenda. A fire had broken out in Sonny's apartment; smoke began moving slowly into the hallway. Sirens could be faintly heard, approaching the apartment complex.

"I don't think you want to do this," Jason said.

"I'd listen to him if I were you," commented Brenda as she peeked out to the side away from Jason's block. Jason whispered to Brenda to shut up and Brenda shot back a look at him. Francis just laughed. 

"You guys should have remained married, because you certainly do act like it," Smoke continued to fill the air. Brenda began to get dizzy and grabbed onto Jason's arm for support. The three were falling weaker by the minute, smoke filling their lungs. Jason squeezed Brenda's hand in reassurance and whispered for her to check that Marco was still alive and breathing.

"What do you want Francis?" Jason asked coldly, trying to cover Brenda in the process.

"It's not what I want. My boss wants you dead. I'm just following orders, like you do Mr. Morgan," Francis released the safety lock and aimed straight for Jason's skull, but slowly moved the gun towards a trembling Brenda. Brenda's eyes began to blur and water from all the smoke, was Marco pointing at her? The next thing Brenda knew, Jason had shoved her out of Francis' view and lunged for the traitor. Brenda crouched down and closed her eyes; she began coughing, forcing herself to stop so she could pay attention to what was happening. She heard struggling and punches and then a piercing gunshot.

*****

"Can we go to Kelly's when Dad gets back?" Michael asked earnestly, "I don't think Adelle tried the chili yet."

Carly giggled, but stopped when she noticed Michael was serious. "Well, it's a little early for her to try some of the chili, but we can still go and ask your daddy as soon as he gets home." 

Carly Corinthos was walking back to her home with her son Michael and baby daughter Adelle from a lovely day at the park. Michael was finishing his ice cream cone he had gotten from the ice cream truck and little Adele sat in her stroller, fascinated with all the people she noticed walking by. Carly's husband had left earlier to accompany his sister on the flight to her rehabilitation center. Carly and Sonny both agreed it was better for the children not to accompany them because of Courtney's estranged state. She wondered why Jason had not gone instead. 

As they neared the apartments she was shocked to see smoke coming out of a window from the penthouse. She quickly dialed 911. "Michael, no. Come back." She yelled as she grabbed Michael before he entered the building. 

Carly remained standing outside with her two children. Michael had noticed what was happening and was asking many questions. Carly was attempting to console him and wondering at the same time where the damn firemen and police were. As soon as she heard the sirens she ushered Leticia and her children to the Brownstone. She ran up to the police and began interrogating them in old Carly fashion before they could interrogate her. Then her mouth and heart stopped when she heard it, two gunshots, followed by a faint high pitched scream. 

A/N: Sorry it took so long to get this up – Memorial Day weekend was very busy-fun-but busy. 

How is it? Please read and review! 

If you have any cool ideas go ahead and suggest them. 

And for all of you just dying to see a little Brenda/Jason romance, keep tuning in. I'm just as much of a Brazen fan as you guys are.


	6. Departure

****

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated nor do I own General Hospital or its characters. 

****

Chapter 6: Departure

"Jason?!" Brenda screamed, running out of her hiding spot. Her hands shot up to her mouth, shocked. She walked towards Jason, "You're ok." She sighed, "Is he…dead?". Jason threw the gun on the floor and fell into Brenda's arms. The smoke was watering his eyes and blurring them at the same time. He was gasping for breath.

"The place might go down," Jason replied. He winced and Brenda saw a large bruise forming through Jason's ripped shirt. 

"You're hurt," she commented, looking him in the eye. 

"I'm fine, come on we have to go."

"JASON!!" Before Jason could move, Francis, although shot in the chest during Jason and his struggle, was able to muster a little more strength to pick up the gun. Francis pulled and the bullet flew in the air, aimed for Jason's back.

Marco, unbeknownst to Jason and Brenda had become conscious and immediately stood up and shielded the couple. Marco fell with a great thud among the smoke; the bullet had pierced the middle of his chest. Jason made sure Francis was dead before returning to a dying Marco. Brenda shuddered and held Marco's hand. Tears ran down her cheek and she mouthed a thank you to the loyal guard. 

"You've done well. You should be proud," Jason smiled down at Marco with gratitude in his blue eyes. Marco just smiled, closed his eyes, and breathed his last breath. The smoke got thicker and Brenda began coughing hysterically. 

"We have to get out of here," Jason ran to the elevator, but noticed it was stuck. "Damn!" 

"What about – cough – the stairs?" Brenda asked, gasping for breath. 

"The stairs stop two levels below us." Jason opened his apartment and dragged Marco in and began gathering materials. 

"Whose stupid idea – cough – was that?" Brenda followed Jason and shut the door; fortunately there was not as much smoke than there was in the hall. She opened the windows and breathed in the fresh air. "What are you doing?" she asked as she watched Jason run frantically around the apartment. 

"Get a jacket, some cash, and your cell phone."

"Why – Wait – What are we-"

"We have to leave and get out of here," Jason said sternly, "The place is gonna go down in flames soon and the police are waiting for us at the bottom." He got a small briefcase from the closet. "JC probably already warned them about your criminal activities, so if you don't want to be hauled off to jail, do what I tell you," He was going back into his robot mode and Brenda knew not to fight it. After a few seconds, Jason and Brenda were ready to leave after saying another good bye to Marco and covering him with a blanket.

The smoke began getting thicker, the door hot, signifying flames on the other side. "How do we get out?" Brenda coughed. Jason looked around; the only way was the balcony. He looked at the balcony then back to Brenda.

"Oh no, no." 

Jason grabbed her shoulders and looked her straight in the eye. "The fire escape connected to this room are not that safe. We have a better chance to go down from one balcony to another; after the second one, there are safer steps on the side that will take us behind the building," 

"A fire escape not safe, great, instead of burning to death, you're telling to jump down straight into it!" Even though she liked danger, she did not enjoy the prospect of nearly committing suicide. 

"This is the only way Brenda!" she wouldn't budge. 

"You're hurt," that was the only argument she could think of.

Jason just shook his head. He brushed a hair away from her eyes and held her face in his hand. "Look, I won't let you get hurt, I promise," he said. She nodded and held the brave hand that was touching her face. Her tear eyes looked into his strong ones, she trusted him.

*****

Carly paced back and forth on the curb behind one of those yellow CAUTION tapes. The wind started to pick up; she wrapped her brown suede jacket closer to her body. The blasts of the two gunshots resounded in her brain over and over. She had her cell phone clutched to her chest. She was able to contact Sonny, but neither could get a hold of Jason. Neither knew if Jason went out or not, Sonny told her he last saw him working in his apartment a few hours ago. Thoughts of her best friend suffering up in the penthouse went through her head. 

"Sonny!" Carly ran into her husband's arms and sobbed on his shoulder. He held his wife and stroked her blonde hair. He wanted to tell her it was going to be ok, but his mind and his gut were telling him otherwise.

"Sonny? Carly?" The couple looked up at the police officer with tears beginning to form in their eyes. The officer escorted them to the side to speak in private. "We didn't find any survivors in the penthouse." The couple broke away from each other. Sonny rubbed his chin and stared on the ground. He cursed and looked up at the sky, as if asking why this was happening. 

"Are you positive, Mac?" Sonny croaked.

"I'm sorry," Mac said, staring at the ground. He couldn't look at Sonny. He hated what Sonny and Jason did and always wanted them put away, but he didn't want anybody to experience such a tragic incident as this. 

"What? Do you think he had time to leave before the fire could-" Carly began, but she choked as the police officer shook his head. "No…no." Carly fell on her knees, her eyes red and swollen. 

"Do you know how this happened?" Mac interrogated, trying to get through his job.

Concerned, Sonny asked "Why? What did you find?"

A/N: I hope you're enjoying it so far. Please review! 

Sorry if you haven't seen Robin in a while. Her stuff will come up soon. The next chapter should be kind of fun, cause it's fun to write. I'm still working out a few things with it. Should be up in a couple days. So be on the lookout on Saturday! 

Thanks for everyone who has supported and given great reviews for this fic! I really, really appreciate it. It keeps me motivated to continue. J 


	7. Author's Note

A little note from the Author. J 

Hi everyone! Hope you are all enjoying the story so far. I know I haven't updated in like a week, and I'm sorry for that. It's just that I'm not sure if a lot of people are interested in this story. I also am having one of the biggest writer's block ever. I know what happens in the last few chapters, but I'm having difficulty making transitions into the ending with this middle chapter. Also, are you guys interested in the whole Robin thing? Cause if you aren't, I can speed through it if you want me to. She's the reason Brenda and Jason are in this whole thing anyway. Well Robin and JC. Please tell me if you are eager to see what happens next, and if you have any specific scene you want to see between Jason and Brenda, feel free to say. For example, my friend wants to see them go shopping. Ha ha. That would be funny. Ok. I'll see if I can get a chapter or two up within the week. Sorry for the inconvenience. 

Thanks to all who have already reviewed and have been reading my story. I truly truly appreciate it. J 

~ chicpinay


	8. Hurt

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with anything related to General Hospital.

A/N: First off, I would like to apologize again for such a late update. I know some of you don't like it much when updates are slow (I don't like it either.). The fact that the site wasn't uploading my chapters successfully also didn't help.

Second, thank you so much for all of your reviews. It was nice to see so many people supporting Brazen! : ) 

Third, thanks for some of the ideas. I'll try to incorporate a couple of them in some way; the gears are already turning in my brain. 

And for those that are interested, the identity of JC will be revealed in the ninth or tenth chapter.

So here's the long awaited chapter 7, Hope you guys like it. : )

****

Chapter 7: Hurt

"You're lying! You're lying!" Robin screamed back at her kidnapper. "He's not gone! Jason's still out there!" Robin escaped from the small office, but she stumbled on a guard's foot and dropped to the ground. She saw her tears soak the cement floor. She tried to hold them back, but she couldn't control her emotions anymore.

"Robin, Robin, calm down and take your medication," Her caretaker lifted her back to her feet and tried to hand her the medication. Her anger and sadness had been building up and once they were let out, she could not place them back in their box. She shoved him away and went after her kidnapper.

"You did this! You bastard!" Robin yelled, her body being held back from tackling her enemy. "Let me go! Let me go!" 

__

A few moments later.

"We're here. You can let go of me now." Robin forced her kidnapper's grip off her arm and leaned next to the barred window. She had calm down somewhat after taking her medication, but she still felt as if she was pulled in thirty seven different directions. JC remained still at the doorway, watching Robin. 

"Jason's really gone?" she asked. She was now on the ground, the wall as her back support, looking intently upon his face.

"There was a fire, no survivors." JC explained tritely. 

"What was the cause of the fire?" her voice quivered. 

"Does it matter?" JC retorted. She glared at him, desperation, hurt, and anger in her eyes. "The police say there was a bomb involved."

__

"So he did do it." She thought. She wiped a tear from her cheek and brushed dirt from her pants. She jumped onto the small cot and started to cry in the small pillow. 

JC sighed and locked her door. "Watch her," he ordered the guard.

"Boss, why are we still keeping her if the guy's dead?" The guard whispered.

"Because he's not," JC answered and with that he left a confused guard and a devastated Robin in the dark hallway cell. 

*****

Brenda checked her pale face in the mirror, if only she had brought more make-up. Once she had the chance, she was going to go out and buy some much needed girly girl stuff. She applied the only tool in her pocket, a burgundy tinted lip stain, while toilets were flushing in the background. Her cough had not gone away, yet, and she had a noticeable cut on her forehead. Her curls had turned into limp waves while the stench of smoke remained in her clothes. They needed to stop somewhere soon to get them cleaned up. 

Brenda returned to Jason's parked car to find Jason asleep in the driver seat. 

She wondered if she should wake him up violently or tenderly, either way would amuse her. She watched him sleep for a couple minutes; enjoying the view of a gentle and relaxed Jason. She quickly snapped out of her staring, why was she just staring at him sleep?

"Ok, I'm done, let's go," she told Jason loudly as she slammed the car door extra hard. He did not respond; he remained motionless. "Jason? Ok I get it, is this supposed to show that I'm so vain and take too long in the restroom?" Brenda shook him violently with her right hand since her left shoulder hurt so badly. "Jason…this isn't funny. Hey, come on!" Then she noticed his bruised side, it looked worse than before. "Oh my god." Brenda frantically phoned an ambulance; within a few minutes, paramedics started storming out of a white hospital van with stretchers and medical bags. 

"Wait, where are you taking him? He's going to be ok, right?" Brenda asked with a trembled voice. Her eyes began to form small tears, she could feel the cut in her forehead sting with pain. 

"What's his name?" an EMT asked while he strapped Jason onto the stretcher.

"His name? It's Jas-" Brenda stopped, she couldn't give out their real names, could she? For all she knew, people may still be after her or both of them.

"What?" the medic screamed. A crowd had started to gather, murmuring at the site. Police started yelling for people to get out of the way.

"Jacob. His name is Jacob Maine" Brenda replied. _He could pass for a Jacob_, she thought. "Wait, can I ride with him, please, I'm --"

"Are you his wife?" the EMT interrupted in a routine manner type of voice. 

"His wife? What are you ins-" Then it clicked. Maybe it wasn't so insane to be his spouse. "If I am, does that mean I can ride with him?"

"Ye--"

"Then, yes, I am. Brandy Maine, nice to meet you, now can I get in the ambulance?" _Why did you just say that Brenda? Being a sister or cousin could have worked fine, _she thought as she boarded the ambulance. But her thoughts about why she claimed she was Jason's wife quickly disappeared as she watched the medics work on Jason on their way to the hospital. 

*****

A melancholy Sonny sat in the hotel room and stared into nothing; a glass of rum in one hand, the other stroking his sleeping wife's hair. Her eyes were puffy, a dried tear on her cheek. Her face was free of any make up, her black attire now crumpled from an uneasy night's sleep. His thoughts tried to focus on who the hell put a bomb in the penthouse, but images of moments with Jason continued to roll through his head. First his sister, now his best friend; Sonny looked back at Carly. She and the children was all he had left.

*****

__

"Shhh. It's ok. She's strong, she can fight this disease." The young man pulled a sobbing Brenda into his strong arms. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying all morning. She tried not to let anyone see, but he found her and she allowed herself to break down in front of him.

"She doesn't deserve this, Jase" she cried into his chest. He stroked her back but she began to pull away. She couldn't lean on him so much. "I'm sorry, it's just that, she's my little sister and"

"You're worried Brenda, I know. We're all worried." He replied, feeling a little hurt and upset that she slipped out of his arms.

Jason awoke with a start. "What the heck was that about?" he wondered and shook his head. Sleep with dreams hardly occurred, but lately it seemed as if his mind wanted him to dream. The room was still and dim, sunrise had just begun, a few tiny rays of light streamed through the window blinds. He groaned when he saw the various bandages and tubes attached to his body, reminding him of his helplessness. 

His mind flashed back to three days ago: the fire, Marco, the balcony, and then him and Brenda driving off. Suddenly two days had passed by when he awoke just long enough to hear his prognosis; he had broken a rib, again, bled internally, and passed out in exhaustion.

Jason searched around the room and laid his eyes on her serene body, lying quietly in a chair to the right of his bed. Six small stitches sat above her perfectly arched right eyebrow and a sling on her left arm protected her shoulder from moving. Her blue hospital gown was loosely draped on her body and except for the bronze nail polish, her feet were bare. He smiled slightly at the peaceful figure. He watched her body as it moved slowly to the rhythmic pace of her breathing. Watching her sleep felt almost soothing to him. 

Brenda opened her eyes slowly and saw a conscious Jason staring at her. She smiled and whispered a hello.

"Hey." Jason greeted quietly, "What are you doing here?"

Brenda pulled up her chair closer to Jason's bed, squishing her nose at the surprising high pitched scratching noise the chair made across the floor. "I knew you hated hospitals, so I wanted to be here when you woke up." She explained with a smile. 

"Thanks, but I'm ok, you can leave now," Jason requested. He wondered if the reason was sincere or just an excuse for herself not to be alone in a cold hospital room. He wished he could read her expressions as easily as he could read Carly's or Courtney's. Her actions never made sense to him. He knew he would be able to read her more easily if he wasn't afraid of becoming close to her.

She disliked it whenever he pushed her away whenever she attempted to do a good deed or something nice for him. She could read his eyes; he really didn't want her to leave. His eyes were always harder to read than Sonny's or Jax's. There were more content and emotions, but even though he hid them well, she could always read him. "You are not ok, stop saying that. You know you hate hospitals, why push me out?" Brenda protested in a loud whisper.

"Because I said so," Jason ordered in a slightly louder tone. "Look, I said this was nice, but I'm fine here. Go-go back to your room. Where is it? Next door?"

"You just be quiet; I'm going to stay right here, and you can't do anything about it because you are hooked up to that tube thing." Brenda sat back in her chair and crossed her arms as if showing she was boss.

"Brenda." Jason threw off the bed covers and attempted to get out of the bed, but the tubes and everything else restricted him from doing so. "Damn"

"See? Why won't you listen and stop being so stubborn and commandeering?"

"I'm not the only one that's stubborn here," Jason's eyes locked with Brenda's, it was another battle of who could put up with who longer. 

Jason sighed. "Brenda, how many times do I have to tell you?" 

"Jason. Shush. No, I will _not_-" 

"_Go back next door," _the arguing couple said simultaneously.

"I see both of you are awake," the nurse noticed and began flipping through their files. Behind the nurse's back, Jason silently tried motioning Brenda to leave while Brenda just sat there mocking Jason. "Ok, Mr. and Mrs. Maine just fill out these papers and you can leave this afternoon after we have another look at you." She looked back at the couple and noticed Jason's confused face and Brenda trying to hold in laughter. "What?" she asked.

"Could you let me have a couple more minutes with my…husband, please?" Brenda asked. The nurse sighed and gave Brenda and Jason five minutes by themselves.

"Mr. and Mrs. Maine?" Jason asked.

"Yeah, about that." Brenda began, but couldn't go on; laughter began to take a hold of her. "I'm so sorry. Ahem. I knew we couldn't give our real 411, you know because of the whole JC thing, so I just said the first name that popped in my head when they asked me your name. And I said…" Brenda began to giggle again.

"No," Jason couldn't help but smile, "Eddie Maine? That's what you told them?" 

"You're Jacob Maine, cousin of Eddie Maine, and I'm your wife, Brandy." Brenda laughed harder and Jason just shook his head, making a face, obviously trying to hold in the laughter.

A/N: Like it? Kind of longer than the other chapters. Notice how this is the second time in my story that Brenda makes herself Jason's wife. Hmmm…..


	9. Jack and Gillian

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to GH

****

Chapter 8: Jack and Gillian

The ringing in her ears wouldn't stop. Carly woke up from her uneasy sleep and groggily answered the phone. "Hello?" she answered, she looked at the clock, 8:42 PM; she noticed Sonny sleeping next to her, a glass of rum still in his hands. The mirror across the room revealed her blonde locks were untidy, but they also framed her make up smeared face. She figured that they must have taken a nap after the service.

"Carly?" a low voice asked. The voice sounded uniquely familiar, but she did not want to get her hopes up, there was no way it could be who she believed it was.

"Who is this?" she asked cautiously, biting her nails.

"It's me, Jason." Carly's eyes widened. Her heart was jumping enthusiastically, but her brain would not let her celebrate and believe the person on the other line.

*****

The running shower water came to a halt; Brenda finished washing her hair for the seventh time in the last two hours. She claimed it was to get the hospital stench out of her hair, but Jason knew she washed her hair whenever she was nervous. Brenda walked out of the bathroom in her newly bought terry cloth robe. Jason's eyes moved slowly from a map of the Tri State area to Brenda's bare legs. She grabbed a PJ set from the shopping bag and looked back at Jason. "What?" she asked playfully. She had noticed his staring; even if it was for two seconds, she still noticed it. 

Jason turned and finished his second phone conversation. "Uh-did you get me some clothes?" he asked casually, well he hoped it sounded casual. 

"Here," she said as she threw him a plastic bag.

"This is all you got me-Two t-shirts and a pair of jeans?" he commented, measuring the pants against his body.

"I got you clothes, didn't I?" she replied as she came back into the room in her new light blue pajamas. She jumped on the bed, grabbed a bag of potato chips and started flipping channels with the TV remote. 

"And you got yourself a new wardrobe." Her tattoo was peeking from underneath her clothes, Jason couldn't help but notice the teasing piece of art.

"Hey, a girl needs clothes," her eyes sparkled playfully and she popped another chip in her mouth. Jason just shook his head, accepting Brenda's humor. "Was that Sonny?"

"No, Anna, she agreed to get a couple of agents to check around and then get back to me," Jason yelled from the bathroom.

"But people think you're dead. Sonny thinks your dead!" Brenda yelled back as she began to sit upright on the bed. 

"Anna promised to keep quiet. I'm not planning on telling Sonny yet." Jason mumbled while brushing his teeth. Brenda's eyes fell directly onto his shirtless body, and the towel encircling his neck. She quickly moved her eyes back up to Jason's face, embarrassed that he had noticed her staring.

Brenda returned to her Beverly Hills rerun on the television. "You're not going to tell him you're alive?? That's worse than sending him off to jail with a knife in his back."

"Relax, I told him, well Carly at least, that I'm ok, and that I'm staying away for a couple weeks, nothing else." Finished washing up, Jason walked back into the room and picked up the two T-shirts, trying to decide whether he should wear the green one or the black one. "It's the only way for us to track down the guy without Baldwin finding out and interfering. Because, you know, if I tell Sonny, he won't listen to me and want to-"

Brenda pointed to the green T-shirt, reading his thoughts. "He'll want to help, start getting men, and then Baldwin and JC will be suspicious." she finished for him. 

"Exactly. You're pretty good at this." Jason replied, wondering how Brenda knew about his insignificant T shirt dilemma.

"I learn. Plus, there's also the fact that I don't want Sonny and company to know what I've been up to." She watched nervously as Jason went to sit down next to her, holding the green shirt in his hands. She didn't understand why her heart was pacing so quickly, it was just Jason, well, a half naked Jason. What girl wouldn't have butterflies?

"I get why you're staying away from Jax, by why Sonny? You know he still cares about you." Jason was concerned; he didn't want his best friend to be lied to by her again. But at the same time, he wanted to understand Brenda's motives.

"That's exactly why, I don't want him worrying about me or Carly getting all jealous and uptight about nothing." Brenda walked past Jason to open yet another bag of junk food, _Where's the damn room service?_ She thought. Jason lightly sniffed in the airy aroma that whirled past when she walked. 

"That's considerate of you." Jason remarked, ingesting the reasons Brenda had just providing, realizing how much less of a selfish brat she actually was.

"I thought so. So where do you plan on taking us? We should stop by the beach; JC always liked the ocean. Plus, we could, you know experience some waves."

"Why, Gidget, did you learn to surf already?" Jason joked as he stood up to change his shirt. 

"Ha. Ha. " Brenda noticed his sculpted shoulders and back muscles, remembering the time when they lived together as a "married" couple. She quickly turned back to the television and opened her bag of nacho chips when Jason sat down next to her. "I'm going to check if they're gonna send us our dinner soon." Brenda hastily informed as she grabbed the phone. Jason picked up the remote and flipped through the various channels, a little bit amazed at the variety of shows that were on. He looked back at an impatient Brenda, tapping her fingernails on the nightstand.

"Hello, yes. Where is our food? This is Bren- I mean Gillian Moore, room 201. We ordered an hour ago and- good. No, thank _you_." 

"What kind of name is Moore?" Brenda began, seriously contemplating the aliases Jason had thought up for them, "I mean, it sounds like we're having an affair or something." Brenda, chips in her hands, lay back on the bed on her stomach next to Jason. 

"It's better than being Eddie Maine's long lost cousins." Jason said as he grabbed a handful of chips. His fingers brushed against hers. Neither of them flinched, but both felt a sudden spark in their stomachs that surprised them. "We need to try and figure out how to find Robin," Jason informed, trying to get Brenda to focus on what was more important.

"Jack and Gillian." Brenda began, ignoring Jason's request temporarily, "Gillian, that sounds so, innocent, I hate innocent names. But of course it's innocent, you like poor innocent girls." She smiled playfully at Jason. 

"What's that supposed to-"

" And Jack- well Jack makes sense; after all you did break your crown." Brenda giggled, and laughed harder when she saw the perplexed look on Jason's face.

"What are you talking about?"

"You know, the nursery rhyme, Jack and Jill went up," she began to explain,"– no of course you don't know. Why would you know what a nursery rhyme is when you had no idea what a fairytale was." Both of them laughed at the memory of the day she taught him about fairytales when they were helpless in the swampy area.

"Another kid thing, how did it go?" he asked.

"No, no, I'm not going through that again with you. Let's try to figure out where JC took Robin." Brenda brought the map to the bed.

"Ok." Jason agreed. The couple stared at the map, clueless as to where to start. Jason couldn't take it anymore, for some reason, he had to know what the hell Brenda was talking about. "So who's Jack, is he a prince or something?"

"Fine, if you _have_ to know." Brenda sighed heavily and a few strands of hair blew away from her face. "It goes: Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water. Jack fell down and broke his crown and Jill came tumbling after. There, that's it. Nice and simple." She proceeded to walk away, hoping to get away from the stupid questions that he would soon ask.

"That's the whole thing? Why did they go up the hill to get water, couldn't they just use the faucet?" 

"This was during the dark ages, when there was no indoor plumbing." She tried to explain without getting annoyed.

"So why a hill? Wouldn't you get water from a river or a well?" Jason crossed his arms and to Brenda he seemed to genuinely want to understand the rhyme.

"The well was on a hill. Hence the up the hill part."

"So he fell down the well?" Jason noticed annoyance in Brenda's eyes and voice. He really didn't care about this Jack person, but he enjoyed ticking her off over something as little as a nursery rhyme. And so their little bantering continued.

"No, he fell down the hill." 

"Was he a prince?" 

"Why would he be a prince? If he was a prince he'd get a servant to get his damn water."

"So why was he wearing a crown to get water?"

"The crown is his head. You could use a new one."

"I don't get it. How can a - " Someone knocked on the door.

"Dinner's here!" "Finally," Brenda exclaimed as she ran to answer the door.

*****

"Mmmm. This is so fantastic, finally some real food, none of that hospital gunk. Are you going to eat that?" Brenda pointed to a piece of stuffed mushrooms on Jason's plate with her fork, her mouth still semi-full.

"Hey, hey, this is my plate, that one is yours." Jason defended, pulling his plate closer to him.

"Well, if you're not going to eat it, you might as well give it to me instead of wasting it. You know, there are kids on the other side of the planet starving and you won't even touch-." She attempted to reach over and pick up a piece of his food.

"So I'll mail it to them." He replied as he moved the plate further away from her.

"You know, you could at least show a little more courtesy. Honestly-" She reverted back to her own plate, it was almost clean.

"So did JC have any favorite places or homes out in the US?" Jason asked, playing with the food Brenda wanted.

"You think he's here?" She looked up from her food and Jason noticed a small flicker of fear in her eyes. She was obviously a bit nervous about confronting the guy so soon.

"Well, we should start here before wasting a trip to Europe." He explained, trying to ease her feelings.

"I don't know. You know, he hardly talked about his past. But I remember something about the Midwest." Brenda put down her silverware gently and started to focus on their serious conversation. 

"I don't believe it." Jason said, which confused Brenda. "That's it? Just something about the Midwest." 

"I told you, he didn't talk about his past tat much. He was kind of weird. I did tell you he was a weirdo, right? He had this obviously fake French accent, bad bleached blonde hair, and a bad complexion. The only thing good about him was his eyes, they were so intense, you know?" she asked, trying to focus the conversation away from her.

"No, I don't." Jason took a sip of his beer, in total disbelief of how much she noticed his physical appearance. 

"Well, that's your fault. You should really go out and meet someone because you want to meet them, not because you want to kill them. You'd meet a lot more decent people that way." Brenda reasoned.

"Let me get this straight, you don't remember much about the guy's past, even though you conversed with him for months. And the only thing you do remember about him was his physical appearance? Jason asked. 

"I'm sorry, I just pick up on those things. Sometimes I remember more of what they look like so if I ever see them again I can just walk in the other direction. Plus, we always talked about current events and stuff – you know, the juicy stuff. I mean, if it wasn't for the big croissant heist in Paris, during the time we first met, we might have not become current events buddies." Brenda explained, recalling the event.

"So what made you continue to talk to him, besides the heist thing?" Jason asked.

"Same reason why you talked to me even though you really didn't want to." Brenda met Jason's eyes, "because he was Robin's friend." Both looked down on their laps, uneasy at the fact that Brenda just stated. Jason looked back at Brenda, her head still slightly down with her wavy locks enveloping her face. She lifted her eyes slowly and met his gaze. She looked so beautiful and innocent to him just then. 

"That was not the only reason I talked to you." Jason finally broke the uneasy silence.

"Then what was it? Cause, I mean, you sure didn't like me for some reason." Brenda attempted to compose herself, not make it look like she was upset at how he had treated her.

"I didn't like you because you blamed me for Sonny leaving you." Jason explained, trying to think of a legitimate reason. He had forgotten completely why he first hated her.

"That's why _I_ started hating you." She noted as she sipped her water.

"Well, I guess… it all started when you tried to force me to remember someone I didn't want to be." Jason revealed, scratching his head.

"Well I'm sorry for trying to get my friend back, ok." Brenda defended. She knew where this was heading.

"I get that you wanted your friend back, but I don't want to be him, Brenda, I don't want anything to do with him. I mean, I see how you would like to be friends with a saint, but that kind of life is just not who I am." Jason explained for what seemed like the hundredth time. He did not want to go through this again, he thought it was done with years ago.

"I get that, but you have to understand this. You, or Jason Quartermaine, whatever, was like a brother to me, ok? We lived together, me, him, and AJ. We were a family. We were the first real family any of us ever had in a long time. So please don't go on the whole I hate Jason Quartermaine thing." Brenda requested fiercly.

"Look, I knew you guys were close, but-" Jason began, starting to get a little angry.

"Why do you think AJ is the way he is? Why I was hurting when you first pushed me away. You try everyday not to be like him, you ignore your family, you grimace at the mention of AJ's name, you stay away from hospitals, but that's not going to get rid of him Jason. Because, even though you might not know it, and certainly Sonny probably doesn't even know it, but there is a small part of him that appears everyday through you." Jason and Brenda's eyes were locked as Brenda explained her feelings about the conflict of the two Jason's that have been buried in her heart. 

Brenda's eyes moved back down to her plate, "The loyalty, the bravery, the part where you excel at everything you love, that's all Jason Quartermaine, not Sonny Corinthos. Whether you want to accept it or not." Her confession moved Jason, he had not fully realized how deep her love for Jason Quartermaine was.

"You really cared about him, didn't you?" he asked softly.

"I did," Brenda looked up at Jason, smiling, the playful look back in her eyes. "Why do you think I put up with you all those years before you finally started being nice to me?"

"Is _that_ why you put up with me? Because that's kind of a dumb reason to put up with a person who claims to hate you." Jason joked.

"It's probably a better reason than you could ever come up with." Brenda challenged.

"Are we competing for who has the better reason for not completely despising the other?" 

"Aww, come on. The only reason you even stayed in the same room with me is because of Sonny and Robin." Brenda relaxed in her chair and crossed her arms, waiting for a comeback.

"True," Jason began, "But that's only part of it." Jason grinned, not sure of whether or not he should get into this with Brenda.

"So what was the other part?" she asked excitedly and leaned forward in her chair. "Wait where are you going?"

"I'm not going to get into this." Jason began to leave the table but Brenda grabbed his arm and pulled him back. Both were taken aback at how close he was pulled back. Their bodies barely touching, each staring into the others' eyes. They hadn't been that close since they had kissed years ago when Sonny left. Jason looked down at her touch, he noticed the gentleness in her fingers. Brenda followed Jason's gaze and she nervously took her hand away and took a step back. 

"Come on, I confessed the classified causes behind my not so total hatred for you." She whined. Jason sighed and sat back down.

"Well, there's the fact that you, like Jason Quartermaine, are loyal, you defend the people you love. I respect that." Brenda was enjoying the compliments. He shook his head; "Do I really have to explain myself?"

"Don't stop, I'm really enjoying how this is making you squirm." Brenda snickered.

"Let's just say you provide a breath of fresh air in the Port Charles environment." Jason concluded and got up from his seat. 

"A breath of fresh air?" Brenda exclaimed, looking up at him.

Jason turned around and looked down at the petite woman. "I don't know, you're different." 

"Different? That's so original. Of course I'm different, what, you want me to be like the other girls," Brenda began to mock girls with a high pitched voice, "'Oh Jason, help me! Please save me from these bad guys, Jason please I need -" 

Jason caught Brenda by surprise and stuffed a spoonful of his food in Brenda's mouth. "Shut up and finish your dinner." He pointed to her plate. Brenda tried to hold in her laughter and swallow the food at the same time. Jason started laughing at the site.

"So are you going to eat that?" 

A/N: Aren't they adorable together? Thank you so much, you guys for all of your support and reviews! They really encourage me to continue even more. 

Here's one of those preview kind of things for you guys. 

Ch. 9 Preview: 

Jason: How am I going to do that in 72 hours?

JC: Figure out a way. _Click_

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jason: You got us into this mess!

Brenda: No, no, no, this is all YOUR Fault!

…. Jason grabs Brenda into his arms and…..


	10. A Little Hot

Disclaimer: Disney and ABC own General Hospital, not me.

****

Chapter 9: A Little Hot

Brenda treaded nervously back and forth across the room. Her eyes shifted from the plush carpet to Jason's stoic face every ten seconds. An anonymous call via the room phone interrupted their sleeping arrangements argument – the dilemma of the second bed being unsuitable for sleeping upon. She did not know how anyone other than Anna and Carly knew where to contact them, but that inevitably meant that someone was watching them, and that was certainly not a good sign. Brenda's concentrated pacing was interfered by a heavy knock on the door.

"Yes?" Brenda asked warily as she slowly opened the door. An average height, scraggly looking man in a waiter's uniform stood opposite her, holding a large bottle.

"Did somebody order champagne, miss?" the waiter asked with a British accent, holding out the bottle towards Brenda. His eyes frightened her; they had an ominous glow to them that gave her the creeps. 

"Umm, I don't think so, I think you have the wrong room," she smiled as she tried to close the door. His designer shoe between the door and frame prevented Brenda from locking out the man.

"I can collect that cart and dishes, mam," he offered, his tone unchanging.

"Oh, ok, sure." She said nervously and went to get the cart of dinnerware. "Sorry if one of the plates still has some food on it, my husband is a picky eater." She pushed the cart towards the man as he held out his hand. 

For a quick moment she was confused, but then realized her poor etiquette. "Oh, a tip! Silly me. Umm, hold on." She pulled out a ten dollar bill from her back pocket and handed it to him. "There you go." She said politely, but was quickly frightened when he grabbed her wrist. "Wait, what are you-" The man pushed the silver cart away and grabbed Brenda's waist. "Let go!" she screamed as he proceeded to cover her mouth with his hand. "Jase-" she tried calling before he held more tightly onto her. Her sharp teeth dug into his hand and he yelped in pain. She tried to leave his grip, but his strong physique overpowered her. "Jason!" she cried once more before her mouth was forced shut again.

*****

__

"Sonny and the deeds to the warehouse in exchange for Robin." The caller on the other line repeated. _"No guards, no other men, not even you. We have business to discuss with him." _Jason rubbed his hand over his face, obviously stressed at the situation. He didn't know who was on the other line, except for the fact that he was one of JC's lackeys and somehow discovered him and Brenda. JC and his men obviously wanted Sonny to go down. 

Jason's anxious steps brought him into the bathroom just as he noticed that Brenda went to answer the door. Jason closed the bathroom door, hoping to prevent Brenda from seeing his worry. "How am I going to do that in 48 hours?" he asked. How was he going to make sure Sonny appeared in and left Pennsylvania in one healthy piece?

__

"Figure out a way," the caller concluded, leaving the dial tone to converse with Jason. Jason sighed and collapsed on the chair in the bathroom. For once, he was stuck on what to do and felt fear not only for Robin, but for Sonny and…Brenda. Before he could try to think of any plans, he heard her screams. Jason dashed out of the hotel room just in time to see a struggling Brenda being taken around the corner.

Jason lost them after entering the hotel's health club. He searched around the pool, the spa, and the gym, but had no luck. He peered into the last place of the club, the sauna. He saw her through the window; her mouth was quiet because of a tight gag and ropes locked her wrists in position behind her back. He hurried over to her; his judgment was clouded, for he did not notice the convenience of the door being open. Brenda noticed and immediately started shaking her head as he bent down behind her to free her hands and mouth. 

"Jason, get out of here." Brenda ordered after the uncomfortable cloth was detached from her mouth.

"What?" he asked a little confused without looking up from untying her wrists. Brenda could not believe he hadn't noticed yet. Her eyes spotted a man approaching the door.

"Get out! It's a" she screamed. But before she could finish, the door slammed closed, "trap," she finished, a little aggravated at Jason. Jason could not believe what had just happened. He finished releasing Brenda and tried to open the door.

"Damn," he said as he punched the door. Brenda began to giggle, she tried holding in the laughter, but couldn't; the situation was too amusing. "What are you laughing at?" he asked her angrily.

"You fell for the most common trap known to man," she laughed.

"You think this is funny? We are supposed to be out there saving Robin and-" Jason stopped, as soon as Brenda stopped laughing. A look of worry emerged on her once smiling face. 

"Oh no," she whispered as her eyes wandered around the small area. What looked like steam or gas began to filter into the room.

"What? What's happening?" he asked cagily, following Brenda's glances.

"You better hope that's heat filtering in here and not something that will kill us in 30 seconds," she replied as she sat down to make herself more comfortable. If it was heat, she knew it was going to be a long night.

*****

Brenda lay on the long bench across from Jason, her legs bent and her hands clasped atop her head. She was now clad in just her bra tank and boy shorts. Droplets of sweat covered her entire body. "Ugh, it's so hot! I want to get out of here!" she whined.

Jason didn't bother to glance over at her. He knew if he did, that feeling inside of him would arise again, and he did not want that to happen. He lay stretched out opposite of Brenda with his hands atop his shirtless washboard abs. His jeans and shirt provided a head rest for him. "Stop complaining, of course it's hot, that's why it's called a sauna" he said annoyingly.

Brenda grimaced and looked over to Jason. She quickly turned her eyes away just as her stomach began doing perfect belly flops. "Can't you just kung fu the door open? Or better yet, shoot at the window," she suggested.

Jason sat up and looked at her, trying not to notice her half naked body. "This window?" he said, pointing to the long glass behind him, "Do you want the alarms to ring and be forced to run from more people, more cops half dressed?"

"Good point." She said as she too sat up. "Well, we've made it this far."

"It'll be safer and easier to wait for someone to open the door." Jason commented as he started to walk around. He could not stand being in there any longer. His watch signified that they had been in there for only 25 minutes when it had seemed like 25 hours.

"I don't want to wait. I could be sleeping comfortably in that nice relaxing queen size bed right about now." Brenda complained as she stood up with her arms crossed.

Jason turned to face her with his "Shut up, Brenda" look. "Why would you get the queen size bed?"

"Because I called it first. Just now," Brenda stated.

"Fine, but tomorrow night you get the other bed." Jason ordered as he sat back down.

Brenda remained standing and placed her hands on her hips. "You expect me to sleep in that bed? You can feel the damn springs on your back!" she said.

"You better settle for it, because I'm not sharing anything with you." Jason replied, wiping his forehead. 

"You were fine sharing a room with me an hour ago!" she said in a slightly louder tone than usual. She could not believe Jason had just said what he did after so many days of them hanging out together. She thought they had gotten over the whole extreme hatred thing. Brenda's complaining was ticking Jason off, getting him angrier by the minute. Pretty soon, the small sauna walls were being shaken by another popular Brazen fight.

"That was before you got us into this mess!" Jason yelled.

"No, no, no. You know, this is all _your_ fault." Brenda replied as she began walking back and forth, making him notice her perfect petite body.

"How the hell is it my fault?"

"You fell for the stupid trap! For what insane reason would you want to save me? We both know Robin is in more trouble!" she screamed back in his face before quickly glancing at his sculpted torso.

"Because you know more about this JC guy than I do! Besides, I wouldn't have to come after you if you didn't try to tip that waiter guy!" he replied equally as loud and irritated.

"So it's all my fault, again! I can't believe this! You're the one that wouldn't answer the door when the waiter just suddenly appeared!"

"I was on the phone! Besides, you wanted the room service!"

"You practically threw the phone at me and ordered me to request it!" she yelled as she gestured a motion of throwing something.

"Because you were whining, something you still haven't managed to quit!" he yelled, glaring directly into her eyes. He wished she would just shut that mouth of hers. Both noticed the very close proximity of their faces, but did not back away. Each noticed each other's intense eyes, moist lips, and could feel their cool breaths on each other. Their angriness towards the other forced them from moving away from their current positions.

"We were both starving! Did you want us to starve to death before we could get to Robin?!" Brenda snapped at Jason, returning the glare.

"It takes more than one night without food to starve to death!" he screamed back. 

"Well excuse me for the technicality!" she screamed. Before the other knew what was happening, their lips were locked in an angry yet passionate kiss. Jason's strong arms were wrapped around Brenda's face. Brenda's hands tried to find a position on his shoulders. She let his tongue wander into her mouth. He tasted the spicy sweetness that he so longed to experience. Their bodies were tightly pressed together, their hands just starting to wander. Just as abruptly the kiss had occurred, the couple pulled away in complete and utter shock. Flabbergasted, both gasped for breath and took a huge step back; his eyes remained locked on hers as a handful of questions and thoughts flooded their minds.

A/N: 

Good news: Jason and Brenda finally succumbed to their heated attraction to each other.

Bad news: I won't be able to update for a while since I will be away in Florida, mainly Disney World and the beaches. 

Anyway, I hope you guys are enjoying this. Please tell me if at anytime the story is confusing or if the characters are beginning to become out of character. And if you think it was kind of silly of them to be stuck in a sauna, sorry, but I thought it was amusing.

Thank you so much to those of you who have already reviewed! It's nice to see so many Brazen supporters!


	11. Pure Love

****

Chapter 10: Pure Love

The stunned couple remained frozen in position; their eyes remaining locked on each other's faces. Sweat continued to run down the temple of Jason's forehead. He was unsure of whether it was because of the sweltering atmosphere or because of the event that had just occurred. Brenda turned her back towards Jason and attempted to consume the reality of what had just happened.

"We did not just do that." Brenda said in disbelief. 

"I think we did." Jason replied, still shocked. He was not upset he and Brenda kissed, but upset that it happened at such a random moment that it caused them both to regret it. He looked back at Brenda, but quickly turned away when she turned around.

"Oh my god!" She exclaimed to herself in more disbelief. Her hands covered her face as she tried to assess the unbelievable. She moved her eyes back to her company, his fingers running through his hair and his eyes failing to look down at hers. 

"I knew I would go crazy if I hung around you too long," he mumbled as he sat down on his respective bench, flinching at the pain in his side. Jason's injury still bothered him as he placed one hand atop his injury, fortunately the pain was lessening. He tried wiping the sweat from his forehead and face but was unsuccessful; the droplets would not stop forming. He was nervous, nervous at the fact that all he wanted to do was kiss her again. Kiss the woman that he had grown to care about. Kiss the Brenda that was no longer dependent of the powerful men in Port Charles; kiss the Brenda she had allowed him to see the past week. Instead of a whiny, spoiled and brat, Jason now saw in Brenda a funny, sensitive, and courageous woman. 

Brenda continued to pace around the small sauna, her mouth rambling and spitting out excuses for what happened. "It was just the heat, I mean, it had to be. It was the heat and the fact that it's just us trapped somewhere, and-" she began. 'It's not the heat, you wanted this to happen,' she thought to herself as she looked back at Jason, the man she had learned to care for even more the past week. 

__

flashback

~~~~

__

"What are you smirking at?" Brenda asked her best friend as she sipped the remnants of her coffee, "and it better not be about the fact that I don't totally despise Jason anymore." 

"You liked being married to him," Robin teased, "you didn't want to leave him." 

"Ok, now you're just kidding yourself," Brenda exclaimed as she put down her teacup. 

"Am I, or are you?" she asked seriously, forcing Brenda to examine her emotions.

~~~

Brenda shook her head free of the conversation her and Robin had only a few weeks ago. "Our minds are just so distraught about…Robin and all this…and…It was a mistake." She concluded tritely, hoping to hide her feelings from Jason. 

"A big mistake." Jason replied back immediately. He too did not want what he was feeling to be true. 

"A mistake we should never talk about, we forget and pretend like it never happened." Brenda suggested.

"If that's what you want." Jason answered in a scratchy voice.

"Ok." Brenda sat back down on the bench across from Jason. 

"Ok." Jason agreed. The couple, too nervous to look at each other, sat in awkward silence, thinking how much they regretted what they just said to each other.

After a few minutes of agonizing stillness, Brenda could not take it anymore. The heat and silence was torturing her; she at least wanted to talk to someone to get the heat and her thoughts out of her mind. Unfortunately, her sauna companion was the 'thought' she wanted to talk about. She heaved a big sigh and figured she might as well be the one to start the conversation because Jason wasn't going to open is often quiet mouth anytime soon.

"Jason." Her eyes lifted up to see Jason doing the same. Brenda could feel the attraction begin building in her again, but she quickly dismissed it.

"Yeah." he stated unemotionally.

"About the kiss-" Brenda started awkwardly.

"Brenda, I…I thought we were going to forget it?" Jason interrupted, hoping to avoid the subject. 

"Right, you're right. Ok…then…Thank you." Brenda told him quietly.

"For what?" Jason asked as serious as Brenda's tone was.

"The past week," she paused, trying to come up with words, "You saved me from death at least twice: Francis, the fire, this, well sort of, and-"

"I don't know if save is the right word for it." Jason interrupted again.

"No, you saved me, like you always do," she smiled.

"I helped you, Brenda. You did some of the work, too."

"I put you on a pedestal and you immediately step down." She joked in a serious manner as she went to join him on his bench. It was true, every time anybody tried to praise him, especially her; he would instantly dismiss it.

"And you can never put yourself on that pedestal." Jason looked into her eyes and cracked a tiny smile at his comment. Brenda's eyes moved downward at the comment, a little embarrassed at her character. Even though she would act like a spoiled brat, it was hard for her to accept that she could ever be the one who could save people, especially considering her recent failed attempts to help those she loved.

"Don't you ever get sick of saving a woman who claimed to detest you?" Brenda asked, staring back into the loyal blue eyes she grew to know so well. Jason brushed a few strands of hair from her face and tucked them behind her ear. His fingers slowly caressed her cheek while his eyes never left hers.

"I'm just returning the gesture," he replied sincerely, his hand not moving away from her smooth skin. She placed her hand atop of his and let him bring their faces closer. For the moment, Brenda was gracious to whoever trapped her and Jason in the sauna because the forced isolation allowed her and Jason's feelings to emerge. They both knew they were in their right minds, they understood the other at that moment. The attraction, the care, the love was shared by both and they realized it the moment their lips met. They closed their eyes and let in the emotions and the sparks they felt as their lips brushed softly in several small, intimate and delicate kisses. 

*****

A black, leather book crashed against a gray, cold wall and fell haplessly to the ground. Robin's ears perked up more at the sound of JC yelling. Considering the fact that JC would not pause in his ranting, she figured the other man was either on the phone, very afraid of JC, or both. Not a moment later, a husky guard threw open her door and pulled her out towards the office. Her insides trembled with fear, why would JC bring her out of her cell unless it was more devastating news. Her heart jumped when she heard him speak his name.

"Next time, let _me_ deal with Morgan." JC screamed into the receiver before slamming it down. As if Robin wasn't giving him a hard enough time; one of his men thought it smart to trap Jason and Brenda in a sauna, a sauna of all places. He could not believe the incompetence of his men. 

"Jason's still alive?" Robin asked timidly, interrupting JC's angry thoughts. JC looked at the petite girl. Her hair, once full of shine and vibrancy was now dull and tangled. Her eyes were sullen and her complexion pasty. He felt pity and fury at the situation he had put Robin in. He did not want to keep her any longer, but he knew he needed to if he wanted to complete his mission.

"That's none of your concern, what you have to worry about his this next phone call." JC spat out coldly, throwing a cell phone to Robin. Hope grew inside her heart; if JC wanted to "deal with Morgan," it only meant that Jason and Brenda were still out there, searching for her. 

Anna Devane paced around her office, making phone calls to her vaious contacts in the WSB. She had already created a team to search Europe, she was now working on a team for the States. Her cell phone rang before she could begin dialing another number. She wondered who could be calling at such an hour, unfortunately the caller ID revealed the caller to be "unknown." 

"Commissioner DeVane," she answered in her best police like voice under the circumstances.

"Mom?" Robin replied quietly. Her eyes grew teary, for so long had she wanted to hear her mother's voice. Anna's eyes grew wide at the sound of her daughter's voice. 

"Robin? Sweetie, are you ok? Where are you?" Anna asked worried. She wanted to wrap her arms around her scared daughter and whisper the resounding words she knew Robin wanted to hear. 

"I'm ok, mom. I can't tell you where I am." Robin's eyes stared at the man before her. She could not believe JC wanted Anna to find Brenda, it had to be a trap. 

__

"Tell her the plan, Robin," JC urged into Robin's other ear.

"Robin? Honey?" Anna asked, trying to hear if her daughter was still on the other line. Static was now responding to her questions; Anna's heart paced frantically, signs of worry expressed on her face.

"I'm ok, Mom." Robin repeated nervously. She didn't know how she could tell her mother where was or who took her that night without JC tearing the phone away. But Brenda was her biggest concern; Brenda could not be given to the hands of _him_, he would destroy her, emotionally and physically. 

"Robin, tell me where you are." Anna started, "Are you in the States?"

"Yes," Robin paused just long enough to let Anna understand that Robin was in the US, "I'm safe, don't worry." Robin urged, trying not to let her kidnapper know what she had just revealed to her mother.

"Are you near Port Charles? Pine Valley?" Anna asked intently.

"Tell her!" JC screamed at Robin, impatient at how long the phone call was taking. He knew Robin had to get off in less than 12 seconds or else the phone would be traceable. Robin just stared back coldly.

"He's going to kill them, Mom, you have to warn-" Robin yelled before JC grabbed the phone away and pushed her into the arms of the guard. Robin struggled as JC let her listen to the screams of her concerned mother calling Robin's name, before turning the cell phone off. Anna looked at the tracking machine on an officer's desk, "Damn!" 

*****

The sauna grew steamier by the second, not because of a rise in temperature, but because of the increased heat between "Jack and Gillian Moore." Their kisses started soft and gentle and grew more passionate as the minutes passed. Jason pulled away and looked into her deep brown eyes. Emotions were rushing through their veins. They could see each thoughts, feel each others' emotions, they had broken down the wall that had stood between them. The wall that was built nine years ago was now in shambles.

"What are we doing?" he asked. He ran his hand through her soft hair, memorizing the texture and the way it ran so smoothly in between his fingers.

"I don't know, but it doesn't feel wrong," she replied as she attempted to kiss him once again, but he turned his head away. Her face contorted in confusion as he searched for the courage of what he needed to say.

"I've broken too many hearts; I don't want to break yours," Jason explained honestly. She knew whose hearts he was talking about, but she did not seem to care about getting hurt because this was the one man that had never left her, the one man that had stayed by her side through everything. Brenda let out a tiny smile at his concern for her heart. She kissed him lightly on the forehead and brushed her hand down his cheek. His blue eyes were like two oceans waiting for her to dive in and explore. 

"It's already been broken. It's just been waiting for you to fix it," she replied sincerely. She had had these feelings for so long and the box could no longer remain closed.

Jason pulled Brenda closer and kissed her with more passion and with more grace than he had ever kissed another woman. She was the only one he wanted at the moment, the only one he was thinking about. His thoughts focused only on the radiant person that had captured his attention and later his heart the day she first returned to his penthouse.

Brenda's heart raced as she felt his kisses wander from her mouth to her neck. She felt his strong hands on her back, unbuttoning her tank. His sweet kisses wandered slowly down to her shoulders, allowing her to press gentle kisses onto his neck. She wanted him more than anything at that moment. 

They explored each other's bodies and each other's hearts. She fit snugly into him and the two shared more than they ever imagined would ever happen to them. The two became one; their hearts became one.

*****

"What is wrong with you Robin? I don't understand. I try to be kind and you do things like this! Don't you want to be free?" JC asked loudly. He hurled the phone across the room; it made contact with the floor, but remained intact. For days he had been trying to soften Robin or break her, but never had she bent.

"Not if it costs my friends." Robin answered nobly. 

"Still the saint, aren't you Robin?" JC asked into her face, causing her to try to move away. She wiped off a droplet of spit that landed right beneath her right eye. He was definitely frightening her now. Her heart longed to reach out and draw out the person he once was, the good-hearted person she had become friends with.

"That's more than what I could say for you. What happened to you? Why are you doing this?" Robin screamed back at her former friend. 

"Isn't it obvious? Money, power, and most importantly revenge. He has to suffer for everything he's done," he explained, hatred appearing in his eyes. His fists clenched, his face heating up with loathing and impetuousness.

"Is this why she left you?" Robin asked in a quieter tone. She was beginning to understand his motives, but surely this could not be the one reason for everything he had been doing the past couple of weeks.

"She'll want me back after I take Sonny down and gain the power and money he once had. The power she once adored in him." 

"What are you talking about? Even if you accomplished this two years ago she wouldn't have come back to you." Robin was confused, was he kidding her about trying to get back his ex by destroying Sonny?

"Time doesn't matter, as long as I get her back." Jagger replied seriously, tracing a finger over the face of the picture that lay on his desk.

"You don't know." Robin's eyes widened at the realization.

"Know what, little Robin? Tell me what the all knowing, intelligent Robin knows this time." JC screamed into her face, sick of all her comments and remarks.

Robin's eyes dropped and grew teary once again. She didn't want to break his heart, despite the fact that he had kidnapped her. She looked back into his eyes and informed him of the news he should have received long ago. "She's gone. Karen died over a year ago, Jagger"

A/N: 

Hi guys! Sorry for the extremely long wait. As you know, I have been away from my computer for a while, but not I'm finally back. I would have updated while in Florida, but I do not yet own a laptop of my own. 

I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I figured Robin needed to appear to explain more about what has been happening on her end of the story; and especially explain who the heck JC is. If some of you don't know, Jagger was a character in the early 90s. He hung out with Robin, Brenda, Karen Wexler, Jason Q, and AJ in high school. Brenda and Jagger had a fling in high school, but Jagger had eyes on Jason Q's girl, Karen. The two fell in love, leaving Jason and Brenda upset and alone. Sorry if his character isn't like the original Jagger, since I was like 8 then, when I first started watching with my mom. His actions will be further "justified" in the upcoming chapters.

Thank you everyone for the wonderful feedback. I hope you guys continue to enjoy the story. : )


	12. Caught

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with General Hospital or anything related to GH.

****

Chapter 11: Caught

Brenda moaned in the darkness of the unusually cold room. She felt pain as she breathed while her wrists felt like they had been slashed. Her eyes flickered but suddenly shot wide open. Brenda let out a large gasp, fear growing rapidly inside her. She felt her eye lids against her brow bone, but darkness still enveloped her. Her pupils attempted to adjust and try to configure as to where she was. But no ounce of light was visible. Her body tried to stand up, but failed as the chains cuffed on her wrists prevented her from doing so. 

"Jason?! Jason?!" Brenda asked, terror in her voice. A single candle barely lit up the room as Brenda noticed a shadow approaching her. As the figure neared, Brenda's insides knotted tighter.

"Nice to see you awake, Brenda."

"JC?" Brenda asked, squinting her eyes to try and make out the man.

"Sleep well?" he asked sarcastically, switching on the electricity.

"Where am I? What did you do to me?" Brenda asked forcefully. She looked up at her wrists, swollen and red, attached to the bed that she was laying on. Her heart raced in terror at the thoughts going through her mind. 

~~~~~~~~~~ flashback

_"They turned off the heat," Jason observed as he caressed Brenda's arms. _

"Not between us I hope," She commented playfully. She could stay in his arms forever. She never believed something as incredible as what had happened could ever occur between her and Jason. Fate was a funny thing – that is, if she believed in fate. 

"What?" she asked, concerned when his fingers abruptly stopped.

"Do you smell that?" Jason asked, as he slowly stood up from their position on the floor. Brenda's eyes wandered around the sauna as her nose tried to sense what Jason was perceiving. Her eyes froze at the sight of a foul smelling gas entering the sauna. "Oh my god." 

~~~~~~~~~~

"Where's Robin? What did you do with her?" Brenda screamed back after shaking her head back into reality. She inched away from him as he sat on the bed she occupied.

"She's fine, for now," JC replied, touching Brenda's legs. She kicked his arm out of the way, causing him to jump off.

"Where's Jason?" she asked sternly. Her eyes were now like ice, fury beginning to build up in her.

"You never told me you were married to him." JC commented nonchalantly as he removed the thick drapes from the window. 

"Where's Jason?" Brenda repeated, not taking her eyes away from the sick man.

"But of course it didn't work out. Tell me, Brenda, why do all the men in your life always seem to leave you?" JC asked as he turned back to face Brenda. His menacing eyes piercing hers.

"He never left me and you know **_nothing_** about my life before France," she insisted. There was no way he could have found out about her. She gave him a different identity, one that did not exist, or at least that had not existed for nearly two years. He laughed at her comment, causing the fear to grow once again in her. Why would he investigate her? 

"Brenda, Brenda, Brenda. You're life has indeed amused me. I would have thought the little princess would have found her prince by now." JC's sinister face sent chills down Brenda's spine.

"What the hell are you talking about?" she asked uneasily.

"Let's just say I've done my homework." JC walked towards the thick metal door.

"You are not going to lock me in here alone." Brenda yelled back.

"I know you hate being imprisoned, but I have no other choice." JC slammed the door behind him and did not look back. 

"Arghhhh! Come back here JC! Don't do this!" Brenda screamed back. Panic tried to shake the cuffs that restrained her wrists. But doing so only caused more physical pain. She stared out the window, dusk just beginning. Tears began rolling down her cheeks. All she could think about was where Jason could be. She knew he wasn't dead yet, she could still feel him. She could still feel the fire inside of her, the fire she felt that night. 

*****

_A young Brenda Barett and Jason Quartermaine talked quietly outside of the crowded gym. Their Valentine's Day dates, the people they believed they loved, had just run off together, leaving their dates alone. Brenda cursed Karen for taking Jagger away from her, as did Jason to Jagger. _

"So, you promise?" the dark haired beauty asked her friend. They had promised to stay by each other and stay friends forever. That was what they desired from each other. They did not want what had happened between Brenda and Jagger (and Karen and Jason) to happen to the both of them. They needed each other.

"I promise," he smiled. The couple, still a little hurt from the events, walked arm in arm back to the Quartermaine mansion. 

"Brenda?" Jason's blue eyes opened immediately; it was just a dream, another dream. The cell was dim, a single light bulb providing the small amount of light in the room. His eyes wandered around and noticed that there were no windows, but only a single door, with a small barred window. He failed to notice the tiny figure in the corner; the figure that had been watching him the past ten minutes. He noticed the metal cuffs around his wrists, chained against the wall. "What the hell?" he shook his wrists violently, attempting to pull the chains from the wall. The pain surged through his body, but he did not care. All he cared about was finding Brenda.

"Don't force it, you'll just hurt yourself. They wanted to make sure you wouldn't escape again." A soft voice alerted Jason's ears. The tiny figure emerged into the dim light. Jason's eyes widened. He had not seen her in years, but she was certainly not as he remembered.

"Robin?" he asked cautiously.

"Hey Jase," she smiled as she walked up closer to him.

"You know, if it weren't for me, they would have killed you last night," Robin informed, touching his bruised face, the bruises that he had not been aware of till that moment. His mind flashed back memories of fighting masked men from imprisoning him and an unconscious Brenda. Robin's sleeve rolled down, revealing a few black and blue marks.

"Are you ok? Did he hurt you?" Jason implored. He noticed another small bruise by her collarbone. 

"Nothing major, but I've been better."

"Brenda?" he asked with greater concern. Robin's eyes widened just as Jason's did a few moments earlier.

"You mean she's not out there getting help?" Robin asked with dread and terror in her voice. "Jase, I told you that I didn't want her to-"

"There were complications," he interrupted as the moments of the bomb and fire floated in his mind. 

"What do you mean?" she croaked.

"Look, I promise you that I will get you and Brenda out of here." Jason said as he stared into her dismal eyes. Robin wiped a single tear from her cheek and nodded to Jason's pledge. How could she have not known that Brenda would have accompanied Jason, thus getting caught like him? How could she have known that this whole mess would have been her fault? If she never bothered to say hi to the poor guy, this never would have unraveled. 

"Jason, I just…I never got to tell you," she whispered with deep regret and sorrow, "I'm so sorry, I didn't know…"

"It doesn't matter, shhh." He rested his forehead against hers, she was now close enough for him to place a tiny kiss on the top of her head, "It's ok, we'll figure something out."

"I have to go, before he finds me here." Robin opened the heavy door slowly, her strength diminishing. "Thanks for coming," she smiled just before the door locked Jason in dark loneliness. 

A/N: Ok, just to inform you guys, the next couple of chapters will be mostly action stuff, so not much brazen romance going yet. Ok hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks again for your reviews, I really appreciate them!


	13. The Choice

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with General Hospital or anything related to GH.

A/N: Hi everyone! Hope you guys enjoy this chapter of Yesterday's Troubles. So please relax and enjoy this long awaited chapter. Don't forget to review please. Thank you already to all the many reviews I have received in the past. And please tell me if it's a little confusing. I really want to know what you guys think.

**Chapter 12: The Choice**

            The cool air breezed into the already cold, industrial type room. Brenda paced slowly back and forth, but the chain kept her hooked to the wall like a dog in a kennel.  Brenda watched as birds flew into and out of the one tiny window. She began to imagine the freedom that she had lost not too long ago. To be like a bird, fly wherever you wanted whenever you wanted. The only times she experienced that type of freedom was as a single girl in Europe…and the first time she rode on Jason's bike. She never understood what Robin saw in Jason, but now she knew, and she fell in love with every aspect of it. Time away in Europe and the past week had helped her realize just how much she had cared for Jason.

            Jason sat against the cinder block wall, darkness forcing him to reflect on the past events and his thoughts.  His body was weary from lack of food and the unsuccessful attempts at forcing his wrists from the chains. But his heart and mind still possessed energy, energy and the want to rescue Robin and Brenda. He hadn't experienced this type of helplessness in a long time, it scared him. The only thing that kept him focused was the fact that he knew Brenda needed him. Even in the darkness he could see her face and bright smile. Sometimes he imagined his fingertips touching her soft dark hair. He missed her spontaneity and energetic zest for life. He never believed he would ever want to hold her in his arms again. But he did.

            The heavy door clanged open, a bright light forced Jason's eyes shut, but he forced them open. Two hefty men yanked Jason out of the room and threw him across the hall. They forced his fatigued body into a room a few yards away. Jason kept his head up, attempting to be take note of the place. Then he saw her. Their eyes met and happiness and relief rushed through their veins. 

"Nice of you to show up," Brenda muttered with a tiny smile. Her heart dropped when the guards threw Jason into her cell, she had believed Jason was on his way to rescue her, not be a captive as well. But she was still happy Jason was with her, even if it was as a hostage.

            "Well, I wasn't exactly given a choice," Jason retorted.  He wanted to embrace her, squeeze her hand, anything, but his hands were quickly tied to the slim pipe above that was above their heads.

            "I would have thought you would have gotten away by now," Brenda whispered in his ear. Her arms were raised above her head as well, her wrists tied to a pipe next to Jason's. The two were a mere foot apart, but it felt like a mile to Brenda; so close, yet so far.

"What, and leave you and Robin here?" Jason whispered back, assessing his surroundings. The only chance of escape was the one door, which was oddly not heavily guarded. The only problem to solve would be how to unlock themselves from the chains.

"Well, you could have left last night and gotten help, but instead you got beaten up by those goons. Man, Jase, you really are losing your touch." 

            "I don't see your wrists free from any restraints." Jason replied, a little annoyed, clanging the chain cuffs on the pipes.

            "You're not going to blame this on me, are you?" Brenda exclaimed.

            "Well, we're not close to setting Robin, or ourselves for that matter, free, are we?"

            "Like you could come up with anything better?" Brenda muttered, eyeing Jason with the old look of hatred she used to have for him.

            "I did, but you got kidnapped, first." Jason reasoned, in his old "I hate you Brenda" tone.

            "Not this again. Who was the idiot that did not see the trap?" Brenda asked, ready to begin another bantering round with Jason again. But before Jason could reply, the door flew open, revealing Jagger laughing at the two.

            "I should have put gags on your mouths. Honestly, do you two ever grow weary of bickering?" Jagger asked the couple who now stared at him with remorse and abhorrence.

 "You know, this doesn't suit you," Jagger commented pointing to Jason's black attire. "A doctor's coat is more like it, or surgeon scrubs. Oh wait, I forgot, big brother messed up your brain. What is it now? Mob enforcer, thug, killer?" Jagger hissed. It amused him that Saint Jason was now Saint Thug. "I know who you are, do you know who I am?" Jagger asked a confused Jason.  "Let me give you a little hint, Karen Wexler." 

Brenda's eyes seemed to light up at the mention of her high school enemy's name. "Jagger?" she exclaimed, a shocked look on her face.

"That's right, Bren. You wanted me in high school, how come you didn't want me a few weeks ago?" Jagger snapped back at her. "And you - You don't even recognize me. You should. You tried to keep my girl away from me." 

"If I did, then you were probably bad news," Jason replied coldly. He remembered Jagger, the stories Robin told about him and Karen. He wanted to meet the tough, righteous Jagger she described. But not the man, the sick man that was standing before him, a sick man filled with rage and anger.

"I see your attitude towards me hasn't changed." Jagger began.

 "Why are you doing this, Jagger? I mean, what the hell could possibly make you this psychotic?" Brenda asked. Her stomach was doing flip flops while her mind ran a thousand miles a minute. There was no way the bleach haired man standing before her was the rugged bad boy she had crushed on in high school.

"Why does everybody keep asking me that?!" Jagger screamed, throwing his hands in the air.  "Why can't you people understand? Sonny needs to pay.  He needs to pay for what he did to Stone," Jagger began. He walked towards Brenda, brushing her hair with his fingertips; she flinched at his touch, "for hurting you more than any man would ever dare," he then walked towards Jason, careful not to touch him, "for turning a friend into a monster, and most of all, for destroying Karen." His eyes closed at the recollection of his love, his heart. Robin's voice resonated in his mind, _"She's gone."_ Jagger shook his head back into reality.

"You sick bastard, you know perfectly well that Sonny did not-." Brenda started. Just then it all clicked for Jason. What happened to Courtney, the penthouse, the hotel, everything connected in Jason's mind.

"You placed the bomb in the penthouse." Jason stated unemotionally.

"You catch on quickly Morgan. I tried obliterating Sonny's perfect family, but a certain Marco issued the family out without my knowledge. And now, taking Robin has gotten to my advantage."  Jagger explained. Just then a guard, holding Robin by the arm entered the room.

"Will you just let go of me, now?" Robin said, forcing her arm free of the man's tight grip.

"Here's the little saint, now," Jagger laughed. Robin noticed the company in the room. Her first instinct was to run and hug her best friend, but reason and a certain man stopped her. Her heart raced as to what Jagger was planning to do.

"Jagger what are you doing?" Robin questioned warily. Jagger walked over to Robin and placed his hands on her shoulders. To Jason and Brenda's surprise, she did not flinch nor try to shrug him off.

 "See, I was going to use precious Robin, here, as a lever over the current PC commissioner, but now I got you two: Sonny's best friend and his past true love." Jagger handed a loaded gun to Robin with one hand, while another remained in his pocket. 

 "I don't want it," Robin protested. Jagger's other hand pressed a knife to her side.

"Take it," Jagger threatened, slowly pressing the knife harder on her body. Robin's shaky hands accepted the weapon, fearful that he might actually penetrate the blade into her skin.  "Now choose, Robin, who goes first, _your_ best friend or _your_ past true love."

A/N: Oh no, Robin shooting the two leads! Kind of a huge cliffhanger, huh? So review and tell me what you guys think about Jagger, like is he a little too nuts. Or what do you think Robin will do. And for those of you who might happen to also like Liason, my liason fic is updated too. So check that out while you're online reading all the fanfic stories, only if you wanna, though.  Ok, until next time!  


	14. Tragedy

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with GH, ABC, or Disney

**Chapter 13: Tragedy**

            His menacing voice echoed in her head, "_your best friend or your past true love._"   She was petrified, scared to death, never had she been in such a predicament. Her hands continued to shake because of the cold and frightful air that seemed to engulf the room. His large, cold hands gripped her own, not allowing her to turn the gun towards him. His other hand focused a blade to her side, ready to penetrate her flesh if she disobeyed his orders. 

Tears and sobs choked her, the sight of her loved ones tied up like animals panicked her, who would save them now. In the past, she could always rely on Jason or Stone to come to the rescue. But Stone was gone, and pretty soon, she readily believed Jason would be leave the world, too. Her eye wandered from Jason's stoic face to Brenda's mercy begging eyes. She never saw such terror or uncertainty in both of them. The strength and fearlessness that used to possess their eyes escaped the moment Jagger uttered those threatening words. "Jagger, please, isn't there some other way that we could-" her voice croaked.

"Come on Robin, big sister Brenda, or big hero Jason?" Jagger interrupted her pleading. His cool breath caused the tiny hairs on her neck stand straight up. 

The knots in Brenda's stomach wouldn't loosen no matter how hard she tried. Cowardice and fear dominated her, preventing reason and patience to settle in. The nervousness and anticipation finally got to her. Not realizing the potential danger her words could lead the three of them in, Brenda snapped. "You've gone completely insane. When the hell did your mind get so warped that you had to resort to an innocent woman todo your-"

"Brenda," Jason interrupted her quietly. He was taken aback by the stern look Brenda returned to him. 

"Jason, no, don't tell me to be quiet." She looked back at Jagger, "He can't make her do this, he can't just make her decide-"

"So, who will it be, Robin?" Jagger asked impatiently. He pretended to ignore the comments Brenda had just retorted. He wouldn't let her words or big mouth dictate his decisions. He steadied his grip on Robin and repeated his question. Despite his strong grasp, the young woman continued to tremble.

"I can't…I'm not going to shoot anyone, Jagger." Robin replied.

"I guess that's too bad," Jagger commented with a stifled laugh. He swiftly, but forcefully knocked Robin to the ground and grabbed the heavy metal weapon that her hands once possessed. 

"Robin!" Brenda screamed out. Robin looked down towards the point Brenda was staring at. The knife had pierced her side, blood slowly trickling from her body. She looked back up at Jagger, who was now staring at her. For a brief instant, Robin thought she saw disbelief in Jagger's face, but he quickly covered it up. Her gaze was locked with Jagger's, while the corner of her eye saw Jason attempt to rip the pipe.

His eyes didn't leave Robin's as he prepared to kill her friends. "Say good bye to your big sister, Robin," he uttered. As Jagger turned to focus on Brenda, his index finger ready to pull the trigger, gushes of water sprayed into his eyes. Jason had broken the slim pipe and was now running towards Jagger. Surprised and shocked, Jagger pulled the trigger, unaware of where the bullet was heading.

Adrenaline overtook his once tired body. His mind as well as his heart wouldn't allow her to leave the world. He wouldn't let a jealous, grief stricken man take the vibrant life away from her. He wouldn't let the madman take Brenda away from him. At that moment, it struck him that she may be out of his life forever. That's when he snapped, because he knew he couldn't live a day without her. She was the one that instilled life back in him and taught him more about life after Robin, after Elizabeth, and after Courtney. Despite their rants and bantering and claims of hatred, she had always managed to teach him something. She made him smile during the oddest and rarest times. She remained loyal to him. She fought for him. She was the one…She was the one that he had truly fallen in love with. If only he had realized it before that moment.

He watched the pipe above him rupture under his force. His legs carried his body towards the villain, attempting to prevent the gun from hurting the two women in the cold room. Hatred, shock, and confusion sent his body to the ground. Something had infiltrated his body, something with such a force to bring the omnipotent enforcer down to the floor. Pain surged through his veins as he felt his body weaken. But he wouldn't give up. Despite the throbbing and aches, his body managed to stand back up and fight. 

Her body froze the instant the deadly weapon was aimed in her direction. The water blurred her vision. Figures and shapes moved in various directions around her. Sounds and smells were all that she could clearly rely on as to what was happening around her. Pounding, clanging, gun shots, screaming, she heard it all, but she didn't make a squeak. She heard things fall on the floor in heavy thuds. She felt the ground shake in fear, underneath her. Her arms suddenly dropped from the aching upwards position they were in and she fell to the ground. She ended up on the floor. How, she did not know. She felt her wrists still imprisoned in metal, but also swelling in pain. Her hands felt bruises beginning to form around her knees. Her head pounded in agony as a dribble of her blood slid down her face. 

Her nostrils took in the scents of gun powder, sweat, and blood. She was too afraid to look up from the tiny spot on the floor. There was a dead silence now.  Everything happened in an instant, but afterwards felt like forever. She was unsure of whether or not she should get up or look up. Was he ready to shoot her if she moved? Was she dead? Would she see her own lifeless body on the ground? Worst of all, would he be gone, drained of the life that she cared so deeply about? 

Tears began to flood her eyes, tears of pain, and tears of hurt. They overflowed across the floor. She followed the independent path the tears seemed to take on, as if it was developing a life of its own. Her eyes were glued on the tiny stream as it seemed to halt and then mix into a tiny pool of blood. Her gaze followed the blood's path, to its origin. Then she saw it, or rather, them. She saw the three of them lying on the ground, each in its own state of sleep. Her heart drowned in horror. She forced her body to crawl to them, to ensure that they had not left her. They couldn't have left her.  Surely they had known how important it was to her for them to stay in her life. Didn't they?

            She stopped at the closest body. He was dead. She couldn't believe her former friend, the man she used to have a crush on, the man she used to adore and obsess about was now gone. But he was gone a long time ago. The man that was now dead was not the Jagger Cates she knew so long ago. But she still couldn't help grieve for the lost soul. Her eyes bled salty tears of pity for the man. How she wished she could have tried to change him. Perhaps it would have been possible for her to have stopped him so long ago. She cried at his failure to make sense of his life. She cried at her own failure to be there for a man who obviously needed a friend. 

            Her thoughts and eyes then wandered to the body lying near Jagger. She brushed the young woman's brown hair from her face. Her sobs grew louder just seeing her best friend in such a state. The body was still warm, a strong heartbeat was intact. "Robin? Come on, little sister, it's me," she called, attempting to awaken her. Robin groaned. Her leg stung and her side ached. She opened her eyes to see Brenda's swollen red eyes. Relief rushed through her, her best friend was still alive. But then fear overtook her. She looked to her left and saw him, his chest barely moving, and his color slowly draining. Brenda followed Robin's gaze. "No," she whispered as she crawled to his body in pain. Brenda took his head into her lap and caressed his face. She called his name, but he didn't answer back.

A/N: Such an intense chapter! I thought it would be better to write about what the characters were feeling than to illustrate a picture of people getting shot and stuff. What did you guys think? Too sad? Too crazy? Tell me your thoughts. I'd really appreciate it. Thank you to all of you who have read and reviewed. It's nice to know what people think of your story. Ok, until the next chapter!


	15. Emotional Tides

**Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with anything related to GH**

A/N: Here's a kinda short chapter to gear you guys up for the last chapter. 

**Chapter 14: Emotional Tides**

                        The night hours began to dwindle as the sun began to peek over the horizon, behind the old Cassadine estate. White crests of water crashed against the jagged boulders, the resonance traveled to the docks of Port Charles. Birds cawed in the distance, flying forever towards the horizon, their cries ringing in the ears of barely awakened residents. Dawn had barely arrived, but one could smell the musty humidity in the morning air. The cool sea breeze made its way through open windows of dreaming residents. And instantaneously, within their respected homes, Elizabeth Webber, Emily Quartermaine, and Carly Corinthos gasped and awakened to the sounds of the sea with a start. Their hearts raced as droplets of sweat clung to their temples. A strong sensation of fear swept over them; something was wrong.

            Claps of thunder drowned the sounds of Robin's muffled cries and heightened the fear that was growing in Brenda's stomach. She continued to caress his face and yell at him, anything to revive him. She had never seen him so pale and weak before, the thought of death continued to grow more and more real as the seconds ticked by. "Jason! Jason?" Brenda screamed, "Oh my gosh, no." She rocked his body in her lap, resting her head on his. Tears streamed down her flushed cheeks and soaked into his hair. "Why did you have to save me, Jason? Why?" She felt him stir and she loosened her grip. Her eyes lit up when she saw that special shade of blue that she would forever remember. 

"Brenda?" he groaned. His surroundings were blurred, but he could still make out her eyes and smile so clearly. He attempted to move, but pain electrified throughout his body. He moaned and she cried. Their eyes locked forever together in desperation. It couldn't end like this, it just couldn't.

"It's going to be ok, just stay awake with me, please," Brenda requested desperately. She attempted to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead and hold him close, but his body refused to stop shivering. Her body wasn't helping either. Her body was screaming in pain, but her heart paid no attention. Her hands quivered as her fingers attempted to soothe the pain emanating from Jason's body. 

"I can't – I can't feel my-" he mustered in shock. He watched her hand stroke his leg, but he couldn't feel her touch. A cut in his jeans revealed a deep red gash in his knee, but he could not feel that either. What he could feel, though, was cold, colder than he ever felt, in his arms and in his chest. The only warmth he felt was through the fingertips of the dark haired beauty that was crying for him. His eyes stared into hers. All he could think about was being afraid to leave her. 

Brenda shook her head lightly as tears continued to spill down from her eyes. "Shhh." She whispered in his ear, pressing her lips lightly on his head.  "Nothing's going to happen, ok?" She gripped his hand strongly, not wanting to let go of something that took her nearly a decade to find.  "I promise," she attempted to convince them both. A jolt fleeted through Jason's mind; he gasped and breathed hard as he forced himself to speak the words he had wanted to tell her since the moment it appeared in his mind.

"Promise-" he choked at the word; not because it terrified him but because it saddened him that he had not remembered till this dreary moment. His body continued to seek warmth from Brenda's embrace, but was quickly weakening. He needed to get this out no matter how much he was hurting. 

"Jason, don't-" Brenda began, shaking her head. Her eyes begged him to save his energy, to focus all his might on staying alive. But he ignored their pleading and clasped his hand in hers. Her eyes that had once radiated with such brightness only radiated sorrowful darkness. His oceanic crystals glistened tears of terror, sorrow, and apology.  The couple could feel their physical seam beginning to tear.

"I remember," Jason finally cried as he kissed her hand gently. His body shook harder, growing more and more cold as the seconds flew by. Although his heart was tired, it was still growing full of more love for the beauty that knelt beside him.             He looked into the once playful and deceiving eyes he grew to love. Brenda's eyes grew wide in curiosity as well as fear. She glanced as he brushed his lips on the top of her hand. 

"What?" she implored. 

A/N: What am I doing! Am I going to kill of Jason?! Oh no! I guess you guys have to wait till the last chapter. And I promise I'll update sooner than I have before. It's sad to see that this story is coming to a close. But it never would have made it this far without all of you wonderful readers. Thanks for your loyalty and support and reviews! 

The final chapter is currently being beta-ed and I'm gonna add a little more to it. 

So…**Chapter 15: The Promise goes up by the end of this week! (Depending on the amount of reviews I receive…well, more like depending on how much homework I get this week.) hee hee. Until the next, and final (sniff) chapter…~chicpinay**


	16. The Promise

**Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with anything related to GH.**

Yesterday's Troubles: Completed. (sniff sniff) 

**Chapter 15: The Promise**

            Robin watched her two friends in amazement. The relationship between the two shocked her; she did not expect such a connection to be so great that she could see true love in their eyes. She remained silent as she observed her two friends face one of the harder obstacles in their life. She watched how the couple's fingers intertwined, how they seemed to fit so effortlessly and so lovingly. Although it was hard to see her former love with her best friend, her heart had accepted them as a potential couple weeks ago. She just prayed that they would have more obstacles to face together in the future, that this wouldn't be the last one. As she watched the couple, Robin's mind instinctively turned to thoughts of Stone; she glanced back at a lifeless Jagger. She looked up towards the sky and quietly asked Stone, her beloved, to forgive her.

            Jason slowly raised his hand towards Brenda's cheek. Her skin was so smooth and warm under his touch; what would he do without her warmth, without her compassion? What would she do without his? He wiped away a tear as she kissed the inside of his palm. "I remember…the dance," he said in a hushed whisper. Brenda knelt by him with a confused look on her face, but her mind instantly reverted her back to a simpler time.

~~~~~ flashback ~~~~~

_"Looks like our dates dumped us," Jason said.  He and Brenda watched as Jagger and Karen walked away together._

_            "Who would've thought, huh Jase?" Brenda said. Some Valentine's Day this had turned out to be, she thought. "The two of us...still together, Promise me we won't ruin that."_

~~~~~

Jason coughed, attempting to clear his hoarse throat. He placed a great amount of his energy on remembering the memory he had not too long ago. He wanted to get this right; actually, he **needed to get it right, for her.  "Through all the troubles, I promise," he began.**

~~~~~ flashback ~~~~~

_'Oh my god," Ned exclaimed, as he ran over to the site.  He saw Jason, lying on the ground, unconscious.  His head had hit a large rock, and blood was trailing down it.  "Jason, Jason…"  Ned knelt down, putting his hand on Jason's head.  "Jason, it's Ned.  Oh my god, Jason!  JASON!"_

_Brenda sat silently next to her friend as he lay asleep in the cold hospital bed. The accident damaged him physically, mentally, and emotionally. She blamed herself for not being there earlier, to prevent what had happened. But she reminded herself that she was with Jason now, and that was all that mattered._

~~~~~

Brenda's eyes grew wider while her heart grew stronger as she heard the words they hadn't spoken in over ten years. She soon began to quietly mouth the words Jason was voicing for her to hear. Jason watched as a small spark began to dance in Brenda's eyes, releasing a tear of comfort; he watched a tiny nostalgic smile spread across her face. His own heart and eyes lit up in response to her facial gestures as he continued to remember.  

 "To stay your friend and stand by you," Jason continued with a hoarse cough. It was getting more difficult to speak, his energy letting up, but he wouldn't give up. Her heart was overflowing with emotions; she knelt in disbelief as to what she was observing before her. A portion of Jason, the one that had belonged to her so long ago was coming back to her. But all too late.

~~~~~~ flashback~~~~~

_Jason didn't know how to tell Brenda.  What would he say to her?  Solemnly, he entered the church.  Brenda was already waiting in the foyer, and turned around expecting to see Sonny.  Neither had to say anything, Jason's face was enough.  He isn't coming._

_Her slap stung his cheek as well as his heart. Guilt set in Jason's gut; he tried to be the friend she had only a couple of years ago, but failed._

~~~~~

His stare never left hers as he attempted to finish the oath, "yest-yesterday-"

"Yesterday, today and tomorrow," Brenda finished aloud for Jason. She brushed his forehead and gently kissed it. She moved down to his mouth and he accepted the delicate peck. 

~~~~~ flashback ~~~~~

_Brenda hated that Jason was in charge.  She only could see him as a friend, not a mob boss.  "So you've really taken his place, haven't you?" she said.  "In his organization?_

_            "Yeah," was all that Jason could say._

_            "You think you have everything now?" Brenda asked.  Jason looked confused.  What was she talking about?  "You don't know," Brenda whispered, and shook her head.  "You don't have everything that Sonny had."  She moved slowly towards Jason, and placed her fingers on Jason's lips.  Jason shut his eyes, almost expecting something to happen.  He removed her hand, but Brenda moved in closer, and slowly kissed him on the lips._

~~~~~

"I won't leave you," Jason and Brenda simultaneously whispered to each other. Tears continued to run from their eyes, their faces evoking love, happiness, sadness, and fear. 

~~~~~ flashback ~~~~~

_"The jury finds Brenda Barrett Morgan and Jason Morgan…guilty."_

_            There was an uproar in the courtroom, as people from both sides started arguing._

_            "Order, order!" the judge demanded, banging the gave.  Brenda squeezed Jason's hand, hoping that she didn't hear what she just heard.  The two looked at each other, both scared of what would happen next, but a bit relieved that they wouldn't go through it alone. Both had promised silently to each other that they would stick through whatever was next, together._

~~~~~

"I promise," Jason vowed as he gripped harder onto Brenda's hand. Neither heard the sirens approaching in the distance nor the showers and thunderbolts that crashed upon the city. Despite the situation, their eyes continued to dance and their hearts continued to glow; love emanating around them. His eyes glimpsed outside the window, he noticed the water spewing over the streets below. He turned back to the splendor before him, "I promise," Jason mouthed to Brenda.  Brenda Barett, the dark haired beauty that had showed up that unexpected, rainy night.

_"I promise," Jason said, holding up his right hand playfully.  "Through all the troubles, I promise."_

_"To stay your friend," Brenda commanded in a serious but still good-humored tone._

_"To stay your friend," Jason recited.  The two started laughing._

_"Yesterday, today and tomorrow," Brenda finished._

_"Yesterday, today and tomorrow," Jason repeated.  "I won't leave you, Brenda.  I promise," he reassured her. _

_"I'm holding you to that promise, Jase," Brenda warned with a smile.  The two shared a long embrace and walked back down the familiar road home._

THE END

A/N: Alas, that is the end of my very first story. I am very grateful and happy that so many of you have remained loyal to the story and have enjoyed practically every chapter. I am very happy the way this fic turned out. Also, if those of you are wondering what happens in the end, like if Jason dies or not, just keep this fact in mind…would I be that cruel and crazy to let him die? Hee hee. 

Anyways…

A very big THANK YOU goes out to my buddy, Trey Sierra, for helping me with writing the flashbacks in this chapter. Especially since it was hard to remember or find anything about the Valentine's Day Dance episode from the early 1990s. We basically rewrote the whole scene, so sorry to those who remember the V Day dance and didn't remember it the way it was. But they did make a friends forever type of promise to each other in the real ep!

THANK YOU ever so much to all of you who have read my story. Thank you to (in no particular order): 

Trey Sierra, Piper, LaSShawn, Sister of the Moon, Nikkie, Amy, Mrs. Brenda Morgan, GQlover2003, maliek, amy, karlie, diamondchel, CB, Court, Lindsay, al, sopinchix, Christina, blue7, brandi, Carmen, Shelly, Shannon, brazen fan, brazen hussy, lady leo, Julianne2, Jae, JuJuBean2, gina, purpleIris, momo, Salemtea, BleedingRose3, Jasper, Liasonfan, and Kram Nebuer. And thanks to all those who read this story, liked it, but didn't review. (I forgive ya) 

Wow, a lot of names.

Thanks again and I truly hope you find inspiration to write your own fic about the loveable Brenda and Jason. 

*P.S.: I'm thinking of a sequel, what do you think??


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